Category: Industry
Costly Plastic
Mar. 30 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s treasury secretary P B Jayasundara has asked the two state banks to step up credit card sales to public servants, following hefty salary increments this year. Under a recent government circular, those working in low and middle level jobs got a 25 percent pay hike, while medical services got […]
Extended Invitation
Mar. 29 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Department of Inland Revenue is giving three extra months to pay back-taxes without facing penalties.Newly appointed Inland Revenue Chief A A Wijepala said those who did not have tax files earlier but register to pay tax this year, would not be questioned about their incomes in previous years. In […]
Expensive Joke
Mar. 29 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will introduce stamp duties from April on a range of services like credit cards, leasing and insurance policies, as the government looks for ways to raise revenue to pay for infrastructure and welfare spending plans. -Mel Gunasekera: mel@ Exemption list: Insurance policy on: Life, Medical Plant, machinery and equipment […]
Filling Gaps
A fast track program to give non-tech graduates jobs in the IT field has paid off, with a first batch of students finding full time work in top companies. The four month program by the Moratuwa University gives graduates from other fields marketable skills like computer programming, web design, networking and business know how. Surveys […]
Damage Control
Mar. 27 (LBO) – Sri Lanka may impose a cess of up to 10 percent on imports to plug a loss in tax revenues, when import tariffs are lowered in April under the Indo-Lanka free trade deal.“Cesses will be used in the future to mitigate the negative impact of the increased preference for imports from […]
Audit Protest
Mar.26 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government auditors are threatening industrial action against chronic inaction by authorities and the parliament to crackdown on corruption and other shortcomings highlighted by them.The angry tones follows a statement attributed to the treasury secretary, which appeared in a Sunday weekly, criticising the audit report for having brought disrepute the public […]
Drama Tax
Mar 23 (LBO) – Sri Lanka passed controversial laws on Tuesday to tax imported movies, dramas, sitcoms and commercials, though tax rates and conditions have not yet been decided.The law makes way for a Teledrama, Film and Commercials levy on imports of all television stations as well as commercials made out of the country and […]
Open Sesame
Mar 23 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will have to further relax import tariffs on goods like cement from April this year under its trade deal with India, with customs revenues taking a hit.Sri Lanka’s bilateral trade agreements with both India and Pakistan allow for a phasing out of tariffs over a eight year period, for […]
Joint Power
Mar. 23 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers had approved a deal for the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to team up with India’s National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in a joint venture coal plant, Power Minister John Seneviratne said Wednesday.The cabinet has approved the provisions of a draft Memorandum of Understanding, which will […]
Sri Lanka’s leisure industry recovers in February
Mar. 22 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit tourism industry continued to recover this year, with arrivals for the two months to February rising 40.2 percent to 104,918 visitors, the Tourist Board said Wednesday.The tropical island famed for its golden beaches, lush, tea-growing mountains and historic sites dating back 2,500 years, greeted 52,687 (up 43.8 percent) […]
‘s leisure industry recovers in February
Mar. 22 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit tourism industry continued to recover this year, with arrivals for the two months to February rising 40.2 percent to 104,918 visitors, the Tourist Board said Wednesday.The tropical island famed for its golden beaches, lush, tea-growing mountains and historic sites dating back 2,500 years, greeted 52,687 (up 43.8 percent) […]
Re-Shuffle
Mar. 22 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has changed the license fee structure for lubricant operators giving players an option of paying a flat fee or a percentage on turnover, Petroleum Minister M H M Fowzie said. -Mel Gunasekera: mel@ Sri Lanka doubled license fees for lubricant operators in January, fixing it at Rs10 million (US$100,000) […]