Vattanac Brewery became Cambodia’s first local brewer to install a flow meter that will let tax officials know the quantity of beer and beverages produced at its facilities.
The event to mark the installation of the device was attended by a delegation of tax officials led by Kong Vibol, Director-General of the General Department for Taxation (GDT), executives and staff of Vattanac Brewery, government officials and business people.
According to a statement, Vibol praised the 100 percent locally-invested company for achieving high tax compliance and installation of the equipment and hoped that other brewers will also install similar equipment.
“Installation of the equipment reflects the tax compliance and transparency of the company in fulfilling tax obligations and this is an example for other enterprises in the industry and other general businesses and it is an essential participation of the private sector to develop and boost economic growth,” the statement said.
Ream Ratha, Director of Administration and General Affairs with the GDT, told Khmer Times that previously tax officials had calculated tax based on numbers provided by brewers without exact information.
“So, we will need to go down there to check the meter to know exactly how much the company brews and then tax officials will take the figures for calculating the amount of tax to be paid. Previously, we could not track and do not know the exact quantity brewed. It was up to the brewers,” Ratha said.
“Simply speaking, it is like a meter for water or electricity installed at people’s homes that tell us how much they consume exactly, but the equipment at the brewery measures the quantity of beer or beverages produced per day or month,” he said.
Vattanac Brewery Ltd, which produces Vattanac and Krud beer brands packaged in both cans and bottles as subsidiary of Vattanac Group — a prominent business in Cambodia — broke ground for the construction of a nearly $140 million brewery in Khan Chbar Ampov district of Phnom Penh two years ago after receiving approval from the Council for the Development of Cambodia the same year.
It covers a total of 150,000 square metres and started production in 2021 with a capacity of 76 million boxes of beer per year. The brewery hopes to employ 1,500 staff when it is fully operational.
GDT requires domestic brewers to install flow meters, conductivity meters and field control boxes at spots and locations in consistent with technical requirements since early December last year.
GDT presented Heineken Cambodia, a foreign brewer, with a certificate naming it as the nation’s top taxpayer and officials activated Cambodia’s first brewery flow meter there late last year.
The government plans to increase revenue by 21.89 percent of GDP or 12.3 percent in 2023 — 7.1 percent rise in customs, 26.5 percent increase in taxation and 14.6 percent in non-tax revenue from this year, and to increase expenditure by 11.3 percent compared.
The Council for Development of Cambodia (CDC) has recently approved a new factory in Kampong Speu province involving an investment of $50.7 million. The drinks can factory is expected to end the current monopoly in the beverage industry.
“Factories not only produce beer but also other types of drinks and it would be easier to buy cans from domestic suppliers instead of importing them, said Vei Samnang, Governor of Kampong Speu province.
An official with in-depth experience in the beverage industry told Khmer Times that Cambodia’s breweries and drink makers are provided cans by just one supplier.
This article was first published in Khmer Times. All contents and images are copyright to their respective owners and sources.
