News

VAT being levied as penalty causes Rs 125 million loss to govt

Published

4 years ago

2021/10/8

By Saman Indrajith

The government suffered a loss of Rs 125.5 million owing to a mistake committed in levying taxes on coal imported for the Norochcholai Thermal Power Plant, says the Second Report of the Committee on Public Accounts presented to parliament on Wednesday by Committee’s Chairman Prof. Tissa Vitarana.

The report says: It was observed that, Sri Lanka Customs has conducted a customs investigation and Rs. 205 million of penalty had been imposed and recovered regarding under payment of Rs.187, 068,787/- in respect of under calculated and paid value added tax (VAT) due to non-calculation of transport and other costs in importing the coal required for the Norochcholai Thermal Power Plant by Lanka Coal Company (PVT) Ltd., as per the provisions of Gazette Notification No.1994/18 dated 23 November 2016.

“The Committee observed that only Rs. 61.5 million was credited to the Government Revenue and as a result the Government lost Rs. 125.5 million due to the fact that VAT has been levied as a penalty instead of being levied as an additional tax, 50% of the fine levied amounting to Rs. 102.5 million has been given as rewards to the officers and 20% amounting to Rs. 41 million has also been credited to the officers’ welfare Management and Compensation Fund.”

The Committee has observed that the Inland Revenue Department, one of the three major contributors to nearly 90% of government revenue, has a large unresolved tax arrears and the government incurs a huge loss due to the delay in settling the arrears.

“Out of the computer programs of the Inland Revenue Department in this regard, the amount of tax in arrears pertaining to the institutions identified with respect to the Legacy system as at 30 March 2021 is Rs. 18 billion. Out of this amount, only Rs. 424 million has been recovered in cash. The amount of Rs.10 billion had been settled in the form of suspensions, tax and penalty deductions, penalty cuts, journal transfers and tax refunds.

However, it was revealed that, the Special Unit set up to settle the tax in arrears related to the Legacy system has settled a large amount of tax and the outstanding tax balance of this unit as at 31.03.2021 is Rs.79 billion only,” says the report.

It says: “According to the RAMIS (Revenue Administration Management Information System) system, the tax in arrears on that day was Rs. 87 billion. Of this amount, only Rs 4 billion had been recovered in cash. The amount of Rs. 60 billion was settled in the form of suspensions, tax and penalty deductions, penalty cuts, journal transfers and tax refunds. The Committee drew its attention to the fact that taxes classified under the category of ‘Recoverable Taxes’ were not in a position to be collected without any actual problems and the Committee observed that an overestimation of the taxes that could be levied due to this does not indicate the true situation.”

Presenting the report to the House, its chairman Prof Vitarana said that the committee had probed accounts of 16 public institutions and he was shocked to see the findings of some investigations.

The committee has observed that there was a loss of ability to reduce the road accidents by half due to the shortcomings of the technical equipment required to the Police who play a significant role in road safety and the necessity to transform the National Council on Road Safety into a National Commission.

“It costs between Rs. 1 million and Rs. 10 million to treat a person subject to a road accident and it was revealed before the Committee that a National Council for Road Safety consisting of representatives from 17 Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations have been appointed to work on establishing a safe road network for all. The Committee emphasized that there is an urgent need to transform this National Assembly into a Commission.

The Committee also stressed that the Sri Lanka Police was found to be lacking in technical equipment to prevent road accidents and that the relevant parties should take immediate action in this regard and provide the necessary items as soon as possible.”

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Tri-Forces donate LKR. 372 million, a day’s pay of all ranks to ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund

Published

3 hours ago

2026/01/3

Priyan

Members of all ranks from the Sri Lanka Army, Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force have collectively donated a day’s basic salary to the ‘Rebuilding Sri Lanka’ Fund, which was established to restore livelihoods and rebuild the country following the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.

Accordingly, the total contribution made by the Tri-Forces amounts to LKR. 372,776,918.28.

The cheques representing the financial contributions were handed over on Wednesday (31 December) at the Presidential Secretariat to the Secretary to the President, Dr. Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.

The donations comprised LKR. 250 million from the Commander of the Army, Major General Lasantha Rodrigo; LKR. 73,963,879.71 from the Commander of the Navy, Rear Admiral Kanchana Banagoda and LKR. 48,813,038.97 from the Commander of the Air Force, Air Marshal Vasu Bandu Edirisinghe.

Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyacontha, was also present on the occasion.

News

CEB demands 11.57 percent power tariff hike in first quarter

Published

5 hours ago

2026/01/3

Thilina Walpola

The Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) has submitted a proposal to the Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) seeking an 11.57 percent increase in electricity tariffs for the first quarter of 2026, citing an estimated revenue shortfall and additional financial pressures, including cyclone-related damages.

According to documents issued by the PUCSL, the proposed tariff revision would apply to electricity consumption from January to March 2026 and includes changes to both energy charges and fixed monthly charges across all consumer categories, including domestic, religious, industrial, commercial and other users.

Under the proposal, domestic electricity consumers would face increases in unit rates as well as fixed monthly charges across all consumption blocks.

The CEB has estimated a deficit of Rs. 13,094 million for the first quarter of 2026, which it says necessitates the proposed 11.57 per cent tariff hike. The utility has noted that any deviation from this estimate whether a surplus or a shortfall will be adjusted through the Bulk Supply Tariff Adjustment (BSTA) mechanism and taken into account in the next tariff revision.

In its submission, the CEB said the proposed revision is aimed at ensuring the financial and operational stability of the power sector and mitigating potential risks to the reliability of electricity supply. The board-approved tariff structure for the first quarter of 2026 has been submitted to the PUCSL for approval and subsequent implementation, as outlined in Annex II of the proposal.

The CEB has also highlighted the financial impact of Cyclone Ditwah, which it said caused extensive damage to electricity infrastructure, with total losses estimated at around Rs. 20 billion. Of this amount, Rs. 7,016.52 million has been attributed to the first quarter of 2026, which the utility said has a direct bearing on electricity tariffs.

The CEB warned that if external funding is not secured to cover the cyclone-related expenditure, the costs incurred would need to be recovered through electricity tariffs in the second-quarter revision of 2026.

Meanwhile, the PUCSL has said that a decision on whether to approve the proposed tariff increase will be made only after following due regulatory procedures and holding discussions on the matter.

By Sujeewa Thathsara ✍️

News

Health Minister sends letter of demand for one billion rupees in damages

Published

5 hours ago

2026/01/3

Thilina Walpola

Ondansetron controversy

Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr Nalinda Jayatissa has sent a letter of demand for Rs. 1 billion in damages from YouTube content creator Dharmasri Kariyawasam, accusing him of disseminating false and defamatory material linking the Minister to the importation of Ondansetron and inciting public unrest.

The notice, sent through the Minister’s lawyers, states that investigations are currently under way into 10 medicines, including Ondansetron Injection, manufactured by India-based Maan Pharmaceutical Limited.

Ondansetron Injection was among nine injectable drugs recently suspended by the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) following reports of patients administered with the drug suffering adverse complications.

Despite the ongoing investigations, Kariyawasam allegedly aired a widely viewed programme on his YouTube channel titled “The hidden story of the Indian drug that claimed lives, Mayor Balthazaar’s relative, and Minister Nalinda’s cover-up.”

According to the letter of demand, the programme falsely portrayed Minister Jayatissa as being directly responsible for importing the drug, colluding with the supplier, and attempting to conceal the issue, while depicting him as indifferent to public suffering.

The Minister’s lawyers maintain that these allegations are entirely false and defamatory, citing passages in which Kariyawasam allegedly accused Jayatissa of lying about the supplier, concealing facts related to PTC Medicals (Pvt) Ltd., the actual importer, and showing a lack of concern over deaths purportedly linked to the drug.

The programme also claimed links between the directors of PTC Medicals and family members of Colombo Mayor Vraîe Cally Balthazaar, implying political favouritism.