Sri Lanka, May 18 -- A writ petition has been filed before the Court of Appeal seeking an order directing the Commissioner General of Excise and others not to grant approval for the use of rice and sugar as primary raw materials in beer production.

The petition, filed by a group of licensed liquor retailers, has named the Commissioner General of Excise, officials of the Department of Excise, the Sri Lanka Standards Institution, the Attorney General, the Inspector General of Police and several others as respondents.

The petitioners state that under Section 2 of the Excise Ordinance, "beer" is defined as a fermented alcoholic beverage made from malt.

However, they allege that most current manufacturers use rice and sugar as the main ingr...