2023-11-18
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) was questioned in the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) whether the government is properly receiving the Value Added Tax (VAT) paid by the public for various goods.
At present, about thirteen thousand institutions have registered for Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Inland Revenue Department officials said that they are investigating the payment of the relevant tax to the government by those institutions. The committee pointed out that the institutions that collect VAT from the public should prepare a system to receive the taxes correctly to the government.
This was discussed when the Committee on Public Accounts met in Parliament on 15.11.2023 under the chairmanship of the State Minister Hon. Lasantha Alagiyawanna to examine the Auditor General's reports and current performance of the Inland Revenue Department for the years 2019, 2020, and 2021.
The committee chairman asked the officials whether there is a possibility to take over and maintain the RAMIS computer system in the Inland Revenue Department itself. However, the officials of the Inland Revenue Department informed the Committee that they cannot take over and maintain the system due to the lack of proper human resources.
It was revealed in the committee that 6 institutes have already been connected to the RAMIS computer system and the Department of the Registrar of Companies is still delayed in connecting to the RAMIS system due to some technical reason. Accordingly, the committee recommended to the Department of the Registrar of Companies to immediately upgrade their system and connect with the RAMIS system. A report on its progress was also directed to be forwarded to the committee before the first of January 2023.
The chairman also instructed to provide a complete report on the tax levied under several classifications as well as a complete report on the arrears of 943 billion rupees to be collected to the committee.
The committee also asked the officials about the registration of new taxpayers. According to the officials, about 198,253 new taxpayers have been registered so far in 2023. The Inland Revenue Department officials further commented that it has been identified that there are about 16 million citizens over the age of 18 and special programs are being implemented to include them in the tax payment process.
State Ministers Hon. Mohan Priyadarshana de Silva, Hon. Prasanna Ranaweera, Hon. Chamara Sampath Dasanayake, Hon. Diana Gamage, Members of Parliament Hon. Tissa Attanayake, Hon. A. L. M. Ataullah, Hon. Ashok Abeysinghe, Hon. Manjula Dissanayake, Hon. Weerasumana Weerasinghe and a group of government officials were present at this meeting.
2026-09-18
Hon. Member of Parliament Sugath Wasantha de Silva, MP (Parliament of Sri Lanka) was awarded the 2026 New Parliamentarian Award in recognition of his contribution to promoting inclusive parliamentary democracy. The award was officially presented to him yesterday (Sep. 17) at the 69th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference held in Cape Town, South Africa.Elected in November 2024 as Sri Lanka's first-ever blind Member of Parliament, he has advanced the principles of disability-inclusive governance through his work as Chair of the Parliamentary Caucus for Persons with Disabilities. Through cross-institutional collaboration, he has also delivered practical reforms, best exemplified through Sri Lanka's first national participatory budget consultation with persons with disabilities.
2026-09-18
The Select Committee of Parliament to conduct a comprehensive study on the lack of preparedness to face Cyclone Ditwah and report to Parliament and submit its proposals and recommendations in that regard, has decided to summon representatives of Pradeshiya Sabhas and Municipal Councils before the Committee to examine how local authorities coordinated their response during the disaster situation.Committee members particularly highlighted the need for further investigation into how local authorities, including Pradeshiya Sabhas and Municipal Councils, were involved in official communication and coordination processes during the disaster.At a recent meeting of the Committee held in Parliament under the chairmanship of Hon. Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, information was sought from members of the National Council for Disaster Management and the District Secretaries of Kandy and Matale regarding the disaster management process in the Kandy and Matale districts.Accordingly, the Committee focused its attention on the early warning systems, communication among government institutions, and emergency response procedures in response to the heavy rainfall, landslides, and flooding experienced in these areas from 23 to 27 November 2025.The Committee also discussed the need to establish formal written procedures to be followed during emergency disaster situations, conduct disaster preparedness drills regularly, and further improve the efficiency of early warning systems.Committee members, including Hon. Deputy Ministers Major General (Retired) Aruna Jayasekara and Anton Jayakody, and Members of Parliament Attorney-at-Law Anuradha Jayaratne, Rohini Kumari Wijerathne, Kanthasamy Prabu, Ruwan Mapalagama, and Dr. Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam, also participated in the meeting.
2026-09-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Energy Affairs approved the Order relating to the calling for investment proposals for the exploration and development of petroleum resources in Sri Lanka and the formalization of the relevant process.The approval was granted at a meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee held recently (Sep. 11) at Parliament under the chairmanship of Anura Karunathilaka, Hon. Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation and Energy.The Order, made by the Minister of Energy under Section 48 of the Petroleum Resources Act, No. 21 of 2021, read together with Section 17 of the said Act, and approved by the Cabinet of Ministers, was published in the Extraordinary Gazette No. 2497/37 dated 16 July 2026.Under this Order, any person seeking to explore or develop petroleum resources in one or more identified blocks is required to submit an investment proposal together with payment of the administrative fee specified in the relevant invitation for bids.Deputy Minister of Energy Arkam Illyas, Members of Parliament, officials of the Ministry of Energy, and other officials participated in the meeting.
2026-09-17
Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Hon. Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, emphasized that universities must take the necessary measures to ensure that victim students have confidence in the investigations being conducted into incidents of ragging at universities.This matter was discussed at a meeting of the Subcommittee on Higher Education, convened under the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, which was held at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister.The meeting included an extensive discussion on measures to be taken regarding vacancies in the higher education sector, particularly at universities, as well as incidents of ragging.The Prime Minister pointed out that universities have a moral responsibility to prevent and control ragging and emphasized that students subjected to ragging must have confidence in the investigative procedures currently in place at universities.Accordingly, the Prime Minister stressed that investigations into ragging incidents must be efficient and effective and should be conducted in a manner that enables relief to be provided to victim students without delay.The Prime Minister also inquired from university vice-chancellors about the failure to date to make appointments that have already been approved by the Ministry to fill vacancies at universities. She instructed officials to take the necessary measures to fill the approved vacancies expeditiously.The meeting was attended by Hon. Dr. Upali Pannilage, Minister of Rural Development, Social Security and Social Empowerment; Hon. Dr. Madhura Seneviratne, Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education; Hon. Member of Parliament Manjula Sugath Ratnayake; university vice-chancellors; the Chairman of the University Grants Commission; and a number of other representatives.
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