The grace period granted to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under Sri Lanka’s Parate Execution Law officially ended midnight yesterday (June 30) for businesses with loans exceeding Rs. 50 million.
The Parate Law grants banks the authority to seize properties pledged as collateral without court proceedings. Although its implementation had been suspended for three months by the current administration—and for six months earlier under former President Ranil Wickremesinghe—it has now been reinstated, triggering serious concern among entrepreneurs.
Deputy Minister of Economic Development – Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando has stated that the government intends to hold discussions with all relevant parties in the coming days to address the issues linked to the law’s reimplementation.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader – Sajith Premadasa has warned that the re-implementation of the Parate Execution Law could lead to the rapid auctioning of assets from small, medium, and micro businesses, putting them at risk.
In a statement yesterday (June 30), he emphasized that these businesses contribute over 50% to Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Production (GDP) and employ over 04 million people.
