News
Tax arrears top Rs 940 billion and much of it ‘unrecoverable’
Inland Revenue Department (IRD) officials recently told the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Economic and Physical Plans that tax arrears amounted to Rs. 943 billion as at 30 June 2023.
However, Rs. 767 billion could not be recovered due to various reasons, they said. The Department had recovered Rs. 37 billion rupees from tax arrears, they said.
The IRD received tax reports before 30 November every year, the officials said. After receiving the tax report, a relevant officer would enter the information into the RAMIS system and identify problems.
Then an audit would be conducted, they said. In some cases, further information was sought as clarifications. The officials pointed out that when such information was requested, often the tax defaulters deliberately delayed the provision thereof.
The officials said that under the existing laws, officials had 30 months to audit a tax report. Another 24 months could be taken after taxpayers make appeals to the Commissioner General, they said.
The Committee was of the view that the appeal period was too long, and it should be reduced to six months. However, the 30-month period for audits should remain as it was, the committee decided after deliberation. However, the MPs decided that the Minister of Finance must have the authority to change the period through a Gazette if necessary.
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the proposal presented by the Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development to award the contract for printing and supplying vehicle number plates for the Department of Motor Traffic for a period of five (5) years to M/s South Asian Technologies based on the recommendations of the High-Level Standing Procurement Committee and the Procurement Appeal Board.
The National Lotteries board has been established subject to the Finance Act No. 11 of 1963. Having identified the requirement of amending that act which was imposed around 62 years to cater the current requirements of the lottery market, the Cabinet of Mnisters at their meeting held on 14.02.2017 granted approval to draft a new bill for the purpose.
Accordingly, the National Lotteries Board has recognized further amendments to be performed to the fundamental draft bill prepared by the Legal Draftsmen.
Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval for the
resolution furnished by the President in his office as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to direct the Legal Draftsmen to finalize the formulation of the draft bill for the National Lotteries Board as soon as possible including the proposed new amendments as well.
The Werahara office of the Department of Motor Traffic performs issuance of temporary driving licenses in this country based on the driving licenses issued overseas, and measures have been initiated to render the service from a service window of the Department of Motor Traffic established at the Bandaranayake International Airport from 03.08.2025.
The fees charged for issuing temporary driving licenses have been published in Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 prepared under the provisions of the Motor Traffic (Authority 203) Act.
But, as the fee of Rupees 2,000/- charged for the service is not sufficient, the requirement of amending the regulations has been recognized.
The regulations for introducing the revised fees have been published in the government extraordinary gazette
notification No. 2463/04 dated 17.11.2025. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Transport, Highways and Urban Development to
submit the regulations to the Parliament for its concurrence.
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Selfies and smiles: South Korea seeks ‘new phase’ in ties with China
M/s South Asian Technologies awarded contract to supply vehicle number plates
A new act for National Lotteries Board to be introduced
Motor Vehicles (Driving License Levy) Regulations No. 3 of 2022 to be amended
Mrs. P. K. L. S. Panduwawala appointed to the post of Surveyor General
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
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