Approval has been granted at the Cabinet Meeting held on 30-03-2026 to provide relief by granting up to rupees 20/- per litre of 92 Octane Petrol, and up to rupees 100/- per litre of Auto Diesel utilized for public transport to minimize the impact on the day today life of the people and the entire economy as a result of escalation of fuel prices due to the war situation in the Middle East region.

Apart from that, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to grant the following relief for  low – income generators, electricity consumers, farmers, fisheries community, and small tea planters who have been exposed to the direct impact of the energy price hike:

(i) Provision of an additional special allowance for April 2026 to low-income generating categories registered under the ‘Aswesuma’ Programme, irrespective of family size: • Providing rupees 7,500/- to a family in the extremely poor category
Providing rupees 5,000/- to a family in the poor category
Providing rupees 2,500/- to a family in the transitional category

(ii) Instead of transferring  the additional cost borne for engaging thermal power plants for generating electricity due to the fuel price hike and prevailing dry weather circumstances to the electricity consumers, the additional cost is to be borne by the Government for a  period of 03 months so that a relief can be provided to the electricity consumers utilizing below 90 units.

(iii) Increasing the fertilizer subsidiary of rupees 25,000/- per hectare given at present up to rupees 30,000/- per hectare for the Yala season and increasing  the fertilizer subsidiary of rupees 15,000/- per hectare given for additional crops that are cultivated in the paddy fields up to rupees 18,000/- per hectare for the Yala season.

(iv) Provide a 50 kg sack of Urea required for the Yala season at a fixed price of Rupees 10,200/- for farmers through Agrarian Services Centres.

(v) Provide a subsidiary of Rupees 50/- per liter for up to 25 liters per day per single-day fishing vessel, for a maximum of 25 days per month, for a period of three (3) months.

(vi) Provide a one-time payment of Rupees 150,000/- per multi-day fishing vessel engaged in fishing activities during the next three (3) months.

(vii) Provide an additional one-time fertilizer allowance of Rs. 5,000 per 50 kg bag of fertilizer to small tea cultivators, in addition to the existing Rs. 4,000 fertilizer subsidy provided by the Sri Lanka Tea Board.

Under the Finance Act No. 35 of 2018 a tax has been imposed on the telecommunication towers and accordingly an annual tax amount of Rs. 200,000/- is levied from mobile network operators who possess telecommunication towers. However, it has been proposed in the Budget for 2026 that the said tax shall not be levied for a period of five (5) years in respect of telecommunication towers newly erected on or after 2026-01-01.

Accordingly, the Legal Draftsman has formulated a draft bill to amend the Finance Act No. 35 of 2018 including the provisions for taking necessary action, and the Attorney General has granted the clearance in the regard.

Hence, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to publish the said draft bill in the Government Gazette Notification and thereafter submit the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.

The cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development to publish the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill in the Government Gazette and thereafter submit it for the concurrence of the Parliament.