Business
16 fish canning factories see closures and layoffs thanks to tax policy ‘favourable’ for importers
“We want a level playing field and not subsidies or protectionism’
by Sanath Nanayakkare
Importers of canned fish have completely crowded out local manufacturers because of a government tax policy skewed towards importers, says Sri Lanka Canned Fish Manufacturers Association (CFMA) President Shiran Fernando.
“It is pathetic that the authorities have not cared about it yet although we have officially informed them of the tax anomaly which has translated into an unfair ‘pricing advantage’ for canned fish importers and a curse for local manufacturers,” he says.
“The government charges less tax from canned fish importers allowing them to mark their prices down by about Rs. 125- 150 for a can of fish. And we, the local canned fish manufacturers who pay income tax, VAT, electricity bills, water bills, EPF/ETF etc., cannot compete with importers who pay only a border tax and get away with it. These canned fish importers need only a desk and chair and some money in the bank or a credit facility from foreign canned fish manufacturers. Their business is such a convenient one whereas ours is a constantly dedicated factory process. And the government’s tax policy complements the importers perfectly to bulldoze the local manufacturers of canned fish who have built this industry from zero. We can’t figure out why these highly qualified government authorities don’t get this basic and simple thing,” he says.
When asked to elaborate on their Association’s current concern, Fernando says,” Look, importers pay only Rs. 200 per kilo of fish they import as a special commodity levy – not for a can; for a kilo of fish. They don’t pay any VAT. We are told that when there is a border tax in the form of special commodity levy, VAT can’t be levied. We don’t know whether that is true or not. However, for us, there is income tax, VAT at the rate of 18%, workers’ wages, fuel costs, EPF/ETF etc. Altogether these push our production costs high. And when we finally send our products to the market, we find that the importers have conveniently converted their tax advantage into a strategic pricing point, and consumers who have been hard hit by the cost of living choose to buy the cheaper product. Importers get two good things at the same time; less tax and pricing advantage whereas we are caught in a double bind between higher production cost and less competitiveness in the market,” he says.
“It has been more than two months now since we pointed out this matter to the authorities in the responsible line ministries. If the government doesn’t want to address this issue objectively and quickly enough, the repercussions of permanent closure of our factories could be dire not only for the 16 manufacturers of our Association who have invested in this industry, but also for the 4,000 direct employees who have toiled for more than 10 years to develop the industry up to this level. This could be the end of a success story of import substitution,” he says.
“Mind you, there will be a lot of Linna fish coming to the market as the season is nearing. But the fisher folk will not see us coming to buy their catch because we can’t compete with imported products that enjoy a pricing advantage over us. This could cause an economic and a huge social issue”, Fernando warns.
When asked what they expect the authorities to do to resolve the issue, Kapila Balasuriya, Secretary CFMA says,” We are not asking for tax subsidies. We know that the government needs revenue and we are willing to pay it. But the government must act upon creating a level playing field for both local manufacturers and importers. That’s key. We must make it clear that we are not asking for protectionist measures.
But the tax anomaly has become a blessing for importers and a curse for local industry. This must be rectified. We have suggested the authorities to increase the Rs.200 per kilo SCL applicable to importers to Rs. 500. Then that will equalize our competiveness in the market and the consumers will be able to buy canned fish for freshness, quality and price instead of considering the price only. We appeal the authorities to create this level playing field for competitiveness. That’s not asking too much as local manufacturers because creating a level playing field for all players in the market is in line with international trade rules.”
CFMA represents all the registered canned fish manufacturers of the country numbering 16 leading companies in the industry. According to CFMA, their production had saved foreign currency worth of 79 million euros per year for the government by way of import substitution in given years.
National Development Bank PLC (hereinafter ‘the Bank’) announced its results for the financial year ended December 31, 2025 to the Colombo Stock Exchange recently. Full year results tabled by the Bank showcase a strong growth across all business lines with Net Banking Revenue increasing by a 45.2% on a comparable basis.
Like most other peers, the Bank’s 2024 financial performance was positively impacted following the successful conclusion of the ISB debt restructure with a one-off impact on interest income, fee income and net impairments amounting to LKR 1.4 billion, LKR 0.7 billion and LKR 9.4 billion, respectively for the said year.
Fund based income
Net interest income (NII), which accounts for close to 75.0% of Bank’s total operating income, grew by 6.5% on a normalised basis. Despite pressure on interest-earning assets arising from the lower interest rate environment, the Bank’s disciplined margin management helped stabilise Net Interest Margin (NIM) at 4.0% for the year. On a comparable basis, excluding one-off exceptional items, NIM stood at 4.2%, compared to 4.3% for both scenarios in 2024. By the end of the year, the Bank had close to LKR 29.3 billion in Loans and Deposits under a special arrangement with its customer(s) with a netting-off feature (end 2024: LKR 19.6 billion).
Non-fund based income
Net fee and commission income reached LKR 8.1 billion for the year – representing a growth of 14.3% from LKR 7.1 billion in 2024 excluding ISB restructuring related fees. Key growth drivers for the current year were trade finance, credit and lending, digital banking and credit and debit cards.
Credit and operating costs
Credit costs for the year amounted to LKR 5.7 billion, reflecting a substantial reduction of 57.1% compared to LKR 13.2 billion in 2024, a testament to the Bank’s strong credit underwriting practices and focused efforts on collections and recoveries. The Bank’s success on account of the latter is best reflected in notably improved stage 2 and 3 loan stock which stood at 7.9% and 10.8% respectively at end 2025 as compared with 16.6% and 14.0% at end 2024. Stage 3 provision coverage also saw further improvement to 59.1% from 54.5% during 2024 showcasing the Bank’s prudent management of credit risk.
Operating expenses closed at LKR 19.0 billion for the year, marking a 13.1% YoY increase. This increase was primarily driven by routine staff-related increments and necessary market realignments, along with higher investments in IT infrastructure and business development undertaken during the year.(NDB)
PMF Finance PLC has announced the appointment of Ms. Nishani Perera as a Non-Executive Independent Director, further strengthening the Company’s strategic oversight, governance framework, and board-level expertise as it continues to advance its transformation and long-term growth agenda.
Ms. Perera is a Fellow Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and brings over 19 years of experience across audit, assurance, advisory, risk management, and corporate governance. She currently serves as Partner – Audit & Assurance at Moore Aiyar and as Director of Moore Consulting (Pvt) Ltd.
Over the course of her career, Ms. Perera has gained substantial exposure to listed companies, banks, finance companies, and other regulated entities. Her areas of expertise include financial reporting under SLFRS/LKAS, audit and risk oversight, regulatory compliance, and the implementation of quality management standards. She has worked closely with Boards of Directors and Audit Committees on matters relating to financial reporting integrity, internal control frameworks, enterprise risk governance, and adherence to evolving regulatory requirements.
Ms. Perera holds a Master of Laws (LL.M.) from Cardiff Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Special) from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. She is also an Associate Member of ACCA and CMA Sri Lanka, and a Fellow Member of AAT Sri Lanka.
Business
Capital Alliance deepens capital market presence with third Closed-End Fund Listing at the CSE
The units of the “CAL Three Year Closed End Fund” were officially listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) recently. Accordingly, a total of 841,263,375 units of the ‘CAL Three Year Closed End Fund’ were listed by Capital Alliance Investments Ltd (CALI), a member of the Capital Alliance Ltd Group (CAL Group). The listing was commemorated by way of a special bell ringing ceremony on the CSE trading floor.
CSE CEO Rajeeva Bandaranaike speaking at the occasion remarked upon the rising demand for Unit Trusts: “When you look at funds, particularly unit trusts in today’s active capital market, we see a lot of domestic interest in the market with more investors entering. Funds, not only fixed income funds but also growth and balanced funds, can be the ideal vehicle through which new investors can enter the market. We see this interest reflected in the success of CAL’s Three Year Closed End Fund. More people are seeking to invest their money through professional fund managers.”
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