2023-12-12
News Categories : Committee News
The Committee on Ways and Means of the Parliament directed the officials of Excise Department to suspend the liquor production license of the liquor manufacturing company that has not paid the due tax installment on 04.12.2023 according to the installment plan to pay the arrears of excise duty.
Furthermore, the committee asked why the relevant report was not provided by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) as per the order made by the committee on 24.07.2023 to provide a list of tax payers whose taxes are 100 million rupees or more in arrears as of June 30, 2023. The related report was requested from the IRD in two sessions of the committee meetings, but so far it has not been received, the committee chair said. The IRD officials stated that they have sought the opinion of the Attorney General in that regard and the committee ordered the officials to provide the list to the committee before December 31 2023.
The Committee expressed its displeasure regarding not providing reports related to some of the recommendations given in relation to the Inland Revenue Department, asking for time, and not implementing the recommendations.
This was discussed when the Committee on Ways and Means met recently (06) under the chairmanship of Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka.
The government had banned the import of wheat flour for companies other than Prima and Serendib, the main wheat importing companies, and during the ban, these two companies had accumulated large stocks of flour, and the committee emphasized that these companies have made a considerable profit by imposing a tax of Rs. 16/- per kg on wheat flour after the ban was lifted.
Furthermore, it was also discussed that by increasing the special commodity tax for sugar from 25 cents to 50 rupees, the relevant companies have earned a considerable amount of unfair profit by releasing nearly 8500 tons of sugar that had been imported and stored in the market. Therefore, in accordance with the provisions of the Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017, the committee again directed to take immediate steps to collect the prescribed tax related to the improper profit thus earned from the relevant parties in the above 3 cases.
In order to recover the arrears of the taxpayers who are evading taxes, the committee advised to prepare a tax collection plan to recover the amount of 173 billion rupees in collectable taxes. The Chairman of the Committee recommended that the Ministry of Finance and the Inland Revenue Department should prepare this together and implement it before December 31.
Among the 39 recommendations made to the Excise Department, the committee questioned why the recommendation of the committee to increase the license renewal fee to a minimum of 10 million rupees has not been implemented so far. Also, the committee questioned the fact that although the committee had ordered to provide the committee with a list of individuals and companies in possession of more than one liquor license in one district, that order had not been implemented. The officials of the Excise Department stated that according to the data system of the Excise Department, it shows that there are no individuals and companies in possession of more than one liquor license in a district, and the Committee directed the Excise Department to inform the Committee in writing.
Furthermore, the Excise Department stated that there are currently 46 toddy production plants and a mobile app has been introduced as per the order made by the committee to prepare a system to monitor the 46 production plants on a daily basis and to calculate their daily production. The committee chair instructed the officers to present the mobile app to the committee.
Emphasizing the need to add artificial intelligence (AI) to scanners in the customs technical system, the chairman of the committee advised the officials to prepare a proposal for this under a public private joint project model under the guidance of IT consultants with the Ministry of Finance.
A follow-up on Disaster Management, Welfare Benefit Scheme and Social Services Department's survey involving urban beggars was also discussed in the Committee on Ways and Means.
Officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Defense, Inland Revenue Department, Excise Department, Sri Lanka Customs, Welfare Benefits Board were summoned for this committee. Members of Parliament Hon. Ashok Abeysinghe, Hon. Sanjeeva Edirimanna, Hon. Ishaq Rahman and Hon. Sudath Manjula were also present.
2026-06-12
The Committee on High Posts has approved the nomination of Mr.P.R.S.S. Gunaratna as the new Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the French Republic and as the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).The approval was granted at a meeting of the Committee on High Posts held recently (10th June) and chaired by Hon. Member of Parliament Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe. Hon. Ministers Dr. Anil Jayantha, Attorney-at-Law Harshana Nanayakkara, Ramalingam Chandrasekar, Dr. Upali Pannilage, Saroja Savithri Paulraj and Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi, Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Hansaka Wijemuni and Hon. Members of Parliament Rishad Bathiudeen, Kumara Jayakody, Kathiravelu Shanmugam Kugathasan and M. Nizam Kariapper, PC were also present at the meeting.
2026-06-11
The Committee on Public Finance convened in Parliament recently (Jun. 08) to deliberate on the report submitted by the Ministry of Finance regarding the missing of US$ 2.5 million held by the Treasury for the settlement of government debt. The Committee, chaired by Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva, was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers: Chathuranga Abeysinghe, (Dr.) (Ms.) Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Nishantha Jayaweera, and Hon. Members of Parliament: Ravi Karunanayake, Harshana Rajakaruna, Nimal Palihena, Chithral Fernando, Attorney at Law, Wijesiri Basnayake and (Ms.) Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law.The discussion was attended by Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe, Governor of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, and a number of other officials, including officials of the Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT). An extensive discussion was held on the report submitted, during which officials of the Central Bank informed that, upon examining the report, they would submit another report on the matter to the Committee on Public Finance. Accordingly, the Chair of the Committee on Public Finance stated that, after considering both reports, a final report would be prepared and submitted to Parliament.
2026-06-09
The motion to refer the report containing the findings of the investigations conducted by the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) in relation to the Department of Motor Traffic to the Attorney General for observations and any necessary further action was approved by Parliament today (Jun. 09).The report contains the findings of the investigations carried out by COPA regarding the Department of Motor Traffic on 10 and 21 March 2025 during the First Session of the Tenth Parliament. It had previously been presented to Parliament on 25 July 2025 as Parliamentary Series No. 243.In terms of the provisions of Standing Order 119(4) of Parliament, the relevant report had been referred to the Minister of Finance and the subject Minister for their observations and following the tabling of their responses in Parliament, the COPA reconsidered the matters contained in the report on 04 March 2026.During its deliberations, the Committee emphasized the necessity of taking prompt legal action in relation to the financial irregularities and frauds that had been revealed in the Department of Motor Traffic. Accordingly, it was unanimously decided to seek the approval of Parliament to refer the Committee’s report to the Attorney General for necessary legal action.Accordingly, Parliament today approved the motion, “The report bearing Parliamentary Series No. 243, which was tabled in Parliament on 25 July 2025 and contains the findings of the investigations conducted by the COPA on 10 and 21 March 2025 in relation to the Department of Motor Traffic, be referred to the Attorney General for observations and necessary action.”No committee report previously tabled in Parliament has been referred to the Attorney General for observations and further legal action, and marks the first occasion on which a committee report has been referred in this manner.
2026-06-08
The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus met in Parliament recently (5th June) to review the progress of investigations and discuss the next steps relating to the case concerning the abuse of a girl in the Anuradhapura area.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Officials representing the Attorney General’s Department, the National Child Protection Authority, the Department of Probation and Child Care Services and the Sri Lanka Police were invited to attend the meeting.During the meeting, the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus instructed the relevant authorities to ensure that all ongoing investigations related to the incident are conducted strictly in accordance with court orders. The Caucus also requested that forensic reports and other medical reports relevant to the case be obtained without delay.As court proceedings concerning the victimized girl are currently being conducted not only in Anuradhapura but also in Attanagalla and Dambulla, the Caucus instructed the National Child Protection Authority to intervene in monitoring those proceedings as well. A request was also made to take measures to minimize the repeated trauma experienced by the victimized girl as a result of her involvement in all three legal proceedings.Furthermore, the Attorney General’s Department expressed its agreement with a request made by the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus to appear before the Anuradhapura Magistrate’s Court in order to facilitate judicial and legal processes and strengthen coordination among government institutions.The Caucus also informed the Department of Probation and Child Care Services to continue paying close attention to matters relating to the girl’s education, health, and safety.The Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus further highlighted the importance of maintaining effective coordination among law enforcement agencies dealing with child abuse cases and agreed to take the necessary interventions in this regard in the future.Moreover, it was decided that guidelines should be developed for media reporting and judicial proceedings relating to child abuse cases in a manner that safeguards the child’s privacy, security, and dignity. A subcommittee functioning under the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus will intervene in this process.The subcommittee will also undertake future measures required to address and overcome the legal and practical challenges that arise in child abuse litigation.Members of the Women Parliamentarians’ Caucus, Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemali Weerasekara, Hon. Members of Parliament (Attorney-at-Law) Hasara Liyanage, (Attorney-at-Law) Lakmali Hemachandra and (Attorney-at-Law) Sagarika Athauda attended the meeting. The Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyaratne, Hon. Members of Parliament (Attorney-at-Law) Thushari Jayasinghe and (Attorney-at-Law) Anushka Thilakarathne joined the meeting online.
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