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IRD’s revenue deficit in 2018 was Rs. 1.3 trillion, officials tell COPA

Published

6 years ago

2020/12/6

by Saman Indrajith

The Inland Revenue Department’s deficit in terms of revenue was Rs. 1.3 trillion in 2018, it was revealed before the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) held in Parliament on Thursday under the chairmanship of Prof. Tissa Vitarana.

Officials representing the department said the substantial loss of revenue was due to most government institutions defaulting on their payments and an independent board has determined that some of these institutions are still not in a financial position to pay their dues.

The Committee asked the department to submit a full report on the institutions.

The Auditor General’s Department pointed out that another reason for this substantial deficit of revenue was due to 8,060 dishonored cheques worth Rs. 3 billion. The Inland Revenue Department officials said a blacklist including 65 taxpayers has already been prepared.

The Inland Revenue Department was summoned before the Committee on Public Accounts and presence was marked of a number of Ministers, MPs, Secretary to the Treasury and Ministry of Finance, Dr. S. R. Attygalle, Commissioner-General of Inland Revenue, C. P. J. Siriwardena and many high-ranking officials of the Inland Revenue and Auditor General’s Departments.

Officials said that since the beginning of 2017, the Inland Revenue Department has utilized a computerized system called RAMIS to streamline the tax collection process, which has proven to be more efficient than handling the work manually.

However, MPs pointed out that it was problematic that more than Rs. 3 billion has to be paid to the Singaporean company, which developed the RAMIS system at a cost of over Rs. 4 billion, every time a tax amendment is made.

Minister Duminda Dissanayake suggested that an agreement on tax amendments should be reached for a one-time payment mechanism with the company.

Secretary to the Treasury and Ministry of Finance, Dr. Attygalle pointed out that a five-year continuous, consistent tax policy was proposed in the last budget for the practical convenience of taxpayers as well as tax collectors.

According to the officials, there are 2,192 big time taxpayers in Sri Lanka, of which 532 contribute towards the payment of 70.2% of tax revenue.

Minister of State Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Duminda Dissanayake and Members of Parliament Tissa Attanayake, Gunapala Ratnasekera, Weerasumana Weerasinghe, Prof. Ranjith Bandara, Ajith Rajapakse, S. Shritharan and Harini Amarasuriya were present at the meeting.

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Sun directly overhead Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon today (30)

Published

10 hours ago

2026/08/30

Priyan

The sun is going to be directly over the latitudes of Sri Lanka from 28th of August to 07th of September due to its apparent southward relative motion.

The nearest places of Sri Lanka over which the sun is overhead today (30) are Mannar, Periyamadu, Puliyankulam, Welioya and
Pulmoddai about 12.11 noon.

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Lanka tracks 11 US-sanctioned Iranian tankers off coast

Published

12 hours ago

2026/08/30

Thilina Walpola

(AFP) Sri Lanka’s maritime authorities were monitoring a fleet of 11 US-sanctioned Iranian oil tankers just off the island’s southern coast, the foreign minister said Wednesday.

The tankers were spotted close to the Galle harbour where an Iranian frigate, IRIS Dena, was sunk by a US submarine in March, killing 104 sailors. Sri Lanka’s navy rescued 32 Iranian sailors from that frigate.

Iranian vessels have been in limbo, unable to return to their home port because of a US blockade.

Sri Lanka’s Foreign minister Vijitha Herath said the tankers were in international waters where they had freedom of navigation.

“These ships are away from our territorial waters… we have no hold on them, nor have we facilitated them,” Herath told AFP.

The military deployed reconnaissance aircraft and patrol boats to monitor the vessels outside Sri Lanka’s 12-nautical-mile territorial waters, a military official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

“There is no indication of any ship-to-ship transfer of oil or illegal discharge of pollutants, so there is no basis for Sri Lankan authorities to take action against them,” the official said.

Many Iranian merchant vessels moved east towards the Strait of Malacca and Singapore due to US sanctions, while several remained near Sri Lankan waters, authorities said.

Sri Lankan officials said Washington had not formally notified Colombo about sanctioned Iranian-flagged vessels

News

House to debate abolition of Chief of Defence Staff post

Published

12 hours ago

2026/08/30

Thilina Walpola

Parliament is to debate next Wednesday the Government’s proposal to abolish the post of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), with the Second Reading of the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Bill scheduled for September 9.

The Bill seeks to repeal the Chief of Defence Staff Act No. 35 of 2009, which was introduced shortly after the end of the armed conflict.

According to Secretary General of Parliament Kushani Rohanadeera, Parliament will meet from September 8 to 11, with the business for the week approved by the Committee on Parliamentary Business chaired by Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne.

The debate on the Chief of Defence Staff (Repeal) Bill is scheduled to take place from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, following questions to the Prime Minister and other parliamentary business.

The CDS post was established under the 2009 Act as part of the country’s higher defence command structure.

On Tuesday, September 8, the House will consider two Orders published in Extraordinary Gazettes under the Motor Traffic Act from 11.30 a.m. to 5 p.m., followed by an Opposition motion at the adjournment.

On Thursday, September 10, Parliament will debate a Resolution under the Women’s Empowerment Act.

The final sitting day of the week, Friday, September 11, has been allocated from 11.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. for several Private Members’ Motions.

The motions will cover issues including regulation of the petroleum, fuel and water industries, measures to increase the birth rate, protection of the Diyagama Forest, pension deductions affecting Pirivena teachers, food-crop cultivation in mountainous areas, development of the Kithul industry and the establishment of a Faculty of Medicine at South Eastern University.

Questions at the adjournment will be taken up at the end of each sitting day.