2024-07-12
News Categories : Committee News
The Committee on Ways and Means expressed its strong displeasure over the failure to act on the recommendations given by the committee on 24.04.2024 to collect the total tax amount of 1.1 billion rupees for the year 2023 from the relevant liquor manufacturers on or before 30.06.2024.
The Excise Department stated that the recommendations given by the committee and the contradictions between the agreements for the collection of excise duty in previous years and the measures to be taken in this regard were inquired from the Ministry of Finance on 24.05.02, but no reply was received from the Ministry.
This was discussed on 10.07.2024 when the Committee on Ways and Means met at the Parliament premises under the chairmanship of the Hon. Patali Champika Ranawaka, Member of Parliament.
It was revealed that the arrears of taxes of W.M Mendis Company is 1659 million rupees, Higurana Distilleries 102 million rupees, Synergy Company 37 million rupees and Wayamba Distilleries 79 million rupees. Thus, it was also revealed before the committee that the total arrears of taxes to be collected from the year 2023 to 15.06.2024 is 1.8 billion rupees. Although the committee had given the recommendation to fully collect the arrears, the committee emphasized that the Parliament and the public will be informed about the Excise Department's failure to fulfill its responsibility.
Furthermore, it was revealed that the payment agreements made by the Excise Department with companies other than W.M Mendis have now become inactive. The Chair said that the Commissioner General of Excise has failed to take proper action in this regard and despite this, the Commissioner is avoiding the Committee on Ways and Means. The committee chair further pointed out that the Excise Department is ignoring the recommendations of the Committee and it is disrespectful to the Parliament and the Committee.
The chair of the committee directed the secretary to the committee to send a written notice to the Ministry of Finance to temporarily suspend the licenses of alcohol production of companies that do not pay arrears of excise duty for the year 2023.
The committee also expressed its displeasure over the excise department adopting a lenient policy on liquor manufacturers who did not pay due excise duty while levying taxes on the general public. Also, the committee expressed its strong displeasure regarding the non-implementation of the recommendations given to the Ministry of Finance in four committee meetings.
Furthermore, the attention of committee was drawn to the flooding of the Kandy railway station. The officers stated before the committee that the drainage system inside the Kandy railway station is not sufficient and that their maintenance and repair activities should be carried out urgently. The committee advised to draw the attention of the World Bank in this regard, to submit these proposals to the District Coordinating Committee, and to contact the Railway Department for the same.
Further investigation regarding the petition submitted with regard to the provision of muddy water to the people of Avissawella area by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board was also taken in to the consideration. There was a discussion regarding the authorized and unauthorized gem mining that has led to the issue and informed to get the list of licensed gem mining related to the ‘Getaheththa canal’ by contacting the National Gem and Jewelry Authority. Accordingly, the chairman of the committee instructed the officers present to observe this issue and submit a related report to the Committee.
Members of the Committee on Ways and Means, Members of Parliament Hon. W.D.J. Seneviratne, Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Hon. Udayana Kirindigoda and Hon. Wasantha Yapa Bandara were also present in committee meeting.
2026-06-19
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Environment focused its attention on the issue of water pollution in the Kelani River when it met in Parliament recently (10th June) under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Environment, Dr. Dammika Patabendi.During the meeting, the Committee was briefed on the progress of discussions being held with companies that have expressed willingness to invest in a project aimed at cleaning the waters of the Kelani River.The Committee also discussed a number of proposals and other issues raised by Hon. Members of Parliament.The meeting was attended by Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
2026-06-18
A meeting of the Women Parliamentarians Caucus was held in Parliament recently to discuss the importance of incorporating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s national budget formulation process and to examine the challenges associated with its implementation.The meeting was chaired by the Chairperson of the Caucus and Hon. Minister of Women and Child Affairs, Saroja Savithri Paulraj. Hon. Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya also participated in the discussion.A key concern raised during the discussion was the lack of adequate data and indicators to accurately assess and measure women’s economic contributions within the budgetary process. Drawing on examples of approaches adopted in India and other countries, members of the Caucus underscored the need to identify and address existing systemic and technical gaps in Sri Lanka’s budgeting framework.The Caucus also emphasized the importance of disaggregating data by gender in project reporting and strengthening digital data management systems to support such efforts. It was further noted that identifying relevant gender-related considerations at the initial stages of project design and implementation at the ministerial level would facilitate more effective project analysis, monitoring, and evaluation of outcomes.The need to move away from existing traditional and time-consuming methods towards formal online systems and data-driven analytical tools was also emphasized.The current progress and challenges in integrating Gender-Responsive Budgeting into Sri Lanka’s public financial policy were discussed in detail during the meeting.It was also emphasized that such budgeting should not be limited to nominal percentages in documents, but that the need to establish a formal framework and data system to ensure it has a real and practical impact was also highlighted.The Hon.Deputy Chairperson of Committees Hemalee Weerasekera, Hon. Deputy Minister Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathne, Co-Vice Chairpersons of the Caucus, Hon. Members of Parliament Chamindrani Kiriella, Attorney at Law and Samanmalee Gunasinghe, Hon. Members of Parliament Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney at Law, Krishnan Kaleichelvi, Sagarika Athauda ,Attorney at Law, Nilanthi Kottahachchi, Attorney at Law, Ambika Samivel and Lakmali Hemachandra, Attorney at Law, along with a group of officials from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, also participated in the event.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government met recently (Jun. 12) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government, Prof. A.H.M.H. Abayarathna.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a range of issues and proposals relating to their respective electorates, as well as several other matters of public importance.Hon. Members of Parliament and officials were present at the meeting.
2026-06-17
The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs met recently (Jun. 09) at Parliament under the chairmanship of the Hon. Minister of Buddhasasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Hiniduma Sunil Senevi.During the meeting, Members of Parliament discussed a number of proposals and issues, including reviewing the progress of discussions initiated with the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education and the Department of Examinations regarding the formulation of regulations to prevent the conduct of private tuition classes on Sunday mornings, thereby facilitating the holding of Dhamma School classes on Sundays.The meeting was attended by Hon. Deputy Ministers, Hon. Members of Parliament and officials.
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