2024-01-11
News Categories : Committee News
A special meeting of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Economic and Physical Plan was held yesterday (Jan. 09) in the Parliament under the patronage of the Minister of Justice Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms Hon. (Dr.) Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe and the participation of the Attorney General regarding the amendments to be brought to the Inland Revenue Act.
This meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Hon. Mahindananda Aluthgamage as an extension of the previous meeting in regard on the 13th of December. There was a lengthy discussion about the amendments to be made to the Inland Revenue Act to increase state revenue at the said meeting and this discussion was held yesterday as an extension of the discussion held on December 13th.
In the meeting held last December 13, there was a long discussion about the amendments to be made in the Inland Revenue Department Act in order to increase the state revenue. The officials pointed out that according to the existing act, there is 30 months for the tax report to be audited by the officer, and after appealing to the Commissioner General, there will be another two years for hearing the appeal. Thus, it was discussed that the two (02) years for hearing appeals to the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue Department is too much and it is advisable to reduce it to six (06) months.
Today, a long discussion was held in this regard with the participation of the Attorney General. As an amendment to the Act, it was suggested that after receiving the tax appeal to the Commissioner General, his order should be given within 6 months and if the taxpayer does not agree with the decision, he can appeal to the Tax Appeals Commission within one month. Also, the Tax Appeals Commission must give its decision within six (06) months and the Tax Appeals Commission only has the power to investigate if the existing calculations of the amount assessed by the Inland Revenue Department are faulty. If there is any other legal issue, it was discussed how to appeal to the Court of Appeal and the amendment of the Act.
Also, the committee pointed out that this amendment is expected to reduce the 15-year long period for tax appeal to 3 years. Apart from this, the committee also paid attention to the regulation of audit firms.
The amendments related to the Tax Appeals Commission Act were also discussed here.
State Minister Hon. Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Members of Parliament Hon. Harshana Rajakaruna, Hon. Iran Wickramaratne and Hon. Madhura Withanage participated in this committee.
2026-01-09
Committee draws attention to the need to recruit IT OfficersCommittee highlights the failure to update the official website of the Department of ArchaeologyThe Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) emphasized the necessity of maintaining a centralized data system containing comprehensive information on antiquities and archaeological excavations.This matter was discussed when COPA met in Parliament on 06th January 2026, under the chairmanship of Hon. Member of Parliament Kabir Hashim, to examine the Auditor General’s Reports for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023 relating to the Department of Archaeology, as well as the department’s current performance.The Committee recalled that at its meeting held on 03rd October 2023, it had recommended the establishment and maintenance of a data system incorporating information on all archaeological excavation sites in the country, discoveries made through such excavations, the success or failure of those excavations, whether further excavations should be continued, and details of other locations requiring excavation.When the Chair inquired into the current progress, the officials present stated that a comprehensive database containing all such information has not yet been established, and that a data system is currently maintained only in relation to excavation permits.Accordingly, the Committee stressed that it is critically important to establish and continuously update such a data system, and informed officials that COPA is prepared to provide assistance if required. The Chair further emphasized the importance of assigning a sufficient number of IT officers to the Department of Archaeology.Officials informed the Committee that although approval had been granted by the Department of Management Services to recruit 12 IT officers, currently only one officer is in service, and that officer is not attached to the head office. The Committee therefore instructed that urgent action be taken to fill the existing vacancies.The Chair also recommended that a formal proposal with regard to the centralized, up-to-date database on archaeological excavations be submitted to the Committee within three months.The Committee further drew attention to the failure to update the official website of the Department of Archaeology. Members pointed out that maintaining an updated official website is vital for tourist attraction. Accordingly, the Committee instructed the Department to prepare a mechanism and take prompt action to update the website.Additionally, the Committee took note that 48% of the total archaeological sites identified as at 31 December 2023 have not yet been gazetted. The Committee recommended that a report containing full details of gazetted and non-gazetted sites be submitted within one month.Furthermore, the Committee recommended the submission of a report on sites identified for nomination to UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, along with the relevant draft proposals.The meeting was attended by Committee Members, Hon. Deputy Ministers Sugath Thilakaratne, Aravinda Senarath, and Nalin Hewage, and Committee Members Hon. Members of parliament M. L. A. M. Hisbullah, Dr. Janaka Senarathna, T. K. Jayasundara, Chandana Sooriyarachchi, (Attorney at Law) Sagarika Athauda, (Attorney at Law) Thushari Jayasinghe, Oshani Umanga, Lal Premanath, Manjula Suraweera Arachchi, Ruwanthilaka Jayakody and Sunil Ratnasiri.
2026-01-08
Approval of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Labour has been granted for the Regulation under Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act (Chapter 129), scheduled for debate in Parliament tomorrow (Jan. 9).This approval was granted at the meeting of the Committee held in Parliament on 2026.01.06, chaired by the Minister of Labour (Dr.) Anil Jayantha and with the participation of the Deputy Minister of Labour Mahinda Jayasinghe.This Regulation, made by the Minister of Labour on 2025.12.12, was presented to Parliament on 2025.12.18. The Regulation amends the current legal provision which states:“Any female employee who has attained the age of eighteen years may be employed in a residential hotel after 6.00 p.m and before 6.00 a.m, on the work of a female reception officer, ladies linen room attendant, ladies cloak room attendant or ladies lavatory attendant.”Accordingly, the Regulation introduces the required legal amendments to allow, in addition to the designated categories already permitted, female workers over the age of 18 employed in residential hotels as Food and Beverage Stewardess to be engaged in employment after 6.00 p.m. or before 6.00 a.m. on the following day.However, officials informed the Committee that under this Regulation, in any instance where the work shift of a female employer employed under this provision ends between 6.00 p.m. and 6.00 a.m., the employer shall be responsible for ensuring her health care, safety and welfare by providing suitable accommodation until 6.00 a.m. or providing transport facilities to her usual residence.Although the current female population in Sri Lanka is approximately 51%, female labour force participation is around 34%. It was discussed that easing existing legal restrictions is a timely need in order to create opportunities to increase female labour contributions, especially to support the rapidly developing tourism sector.A number of proposals on measures that can be taken to safeguard the rights of female workers and other employees, as well as matters relating to increasing the wages of plantation workers, were presented to the Committee by Hon. Members of Parliament. The Hon. Minister of Labour stated that discussions on these matters will be carried out in the future and necessary steps will be taken accordingly.A number of Members of Parliament, the Secretary to the Ministry of Labour, and officials representing the Ministry of Labour and institutions under it also participated in this Committee meeting.
2026-01-08
Rs. 25 million working capital loan and investment scheme for businesses affected by Cyclone Dithwa, along with a Rs. 25 million loan scheme at 5% interest – Secretary to the Ministry of FinanceThe Ministerial Consultative Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development met on 07.01.2026 at the Parliamentary Complex under the chairmanship of Hon. President and Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Anura Kumara Dissanayake.The meeting was attended by the Hon. Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Anil Jayantha, Hon.Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Nishantha Jayaweera, and the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, among others.Discussions focused on financial assistance for industries affected by Cyclone Dithwa. It was noted that several loan schemes have been introduced to support affected business owners. Accordingly, the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma, stated that a Rs. 25 million working capital loan and investment scheme, as well as a Rs. 25 million loan scheme at a concessional interest rate of 5%, have already been arranged.It was further revealed that a sum of Rs. 1 billion has already been allocated to the Ministry of Industries and Entrepreneurship Development. The Committee drew attention to the fact that these funds have not yet been utilized in a proper and effective manner.Hon. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake instructed the Ministry to take necessary steps to establish a systematic mechanism to ensure the effective utilization of the funds already allocated and released, before considering the allocation of additional funds.The Committee also discussed the need for a mechanism to register all businesses contributing to the national economy, as well as the importance of raising awareness among the business community about the benefits of such registration.Accordingly, the Chairperson of the Committee stated that the Government has also focused its attention on providing relief to unregistered small and medium-scale entrepreneurs who were affected by the recent disaster. District Secretaries have been instructed to submit reports in this regard.In addition, Hon. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced that the compensation payments for fully damaged houses and the programme for constructing new houses will commence on January 09, starting from Anuradhapura and Kurunegala.The meeting was attended by the Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, Ms. Hemali Weerasekara, several Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Members of Parliament, the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and officials of institutions under the Ministry, the Secretary-General of Parliament, Ms. Kushani Rohanadeera and several officials including the Director (Legislative Services) and the Acting Director of Communications, Mr. M. Jayalath Perera.
2026-01-08
A meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence was held yesterday (Jan. 07) evening in the Parliament premises under the chairmanship of Hon. President and Minister of Defence Anura Kumara Dissanayaka.At this meeting of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Defence, Members of Parliament raised several issues such as reviewing the progress of the implementation of decisions reached at previous committee meetings, the release of lands in the Northern and Eastern Provinces, the opening of roads, and the functioning of schools.Accordingly, His Excellency the President issued the necessary instructions to officials to provide feasible solutions to those matters, and discussions were also held regarding existing obstacles and the steps to be taken in carrying out these activities.Matters such as the welfare of members of the defence forces and deploying more personnel for the United Nations peacekeeping forces were also discussed.Deputy Minister of Defence Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera was also present at this meeting, along with several Ministers, Deputy Ministers, and Members of Parliament. Likewise, a group including the Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, Heads of the Tri-Forces, several senior officials of the defence sector, the Secretary General of Parliament Mrs. Kushani Rohanadeera, and officials of the Ministry were also present at this meeting.
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