BIZ

FTZ Union requests Govt. to collar bigtime tax evaders

Published

1 year ago

November 11, 2022

editor

The Free Trade Zones and General Services Employees’ Union (FTZ&GSEU) has made a call to take immediate action on companies that have become VAT and income tax defaulters, rather than increasing the indirect tax burden on the public.

In a letter to all MPs, the FTZ&GSEU says the following factors were revealed in a Parliament speech by MP Mahindananda Aluthgamage on Sep. 20.

Only 25,692 companies have paid taxes out of 100,005 business companies that have income tax files opened. Accordingly, 74,313 companies have defrauded in paying due taxes.
Out of the 60,721 enterprises registered for VAT only 185 have paid VAT charged from customers by September to the government. This means the remaining 60,536 enterprises have kept for themselves the VAT charged from customers.
Income tax has not been paid by a leading businessman who owns a popular chain of garment outlets and also by a businessman owning a popular supermarket chain.
Income tax is not paid by 75 MPs.

“Whatever the motive was for MP Aluthgamage to expose these defrauds, in a country where indirect tax total 83 percent, it is the general public who end up carrying this huge burden of tax defaults in billions of rupees by corrupt businessmen. People have been made to undergo all hardships due to these defaults with no government taking effective measures to recover defaulted tax money with surcharges from those who defraud. Instead of recovering defaulted tax money with penalties from corrupt defrauding businessmen, governments impose and increase indirect taxes on people who thus become unnecessarily punished,” the letter adds.

The FTZ&GSEU further urges the MPs to take the following measures in this regard :

Request the Minister of Finance to present a detailed report to Parliament including the names of businessmen who are related to tax frauds mentioned above, before the next budget is presented in parliament and also adopt resolutions in parliament to,
Immediately suspend the income tax imposed on personal incomes of one hundred thousand rupees (100,000) and above, until a final decision is taken by the NLAC on information provided by the ministry of finance on tax defrauds and
Remove the total VAT imposed on essential consumer goods and suspend the social security contribution levy of 2.5 percent in force with effect from the 01 st October 2022.

The complete letter of the FTZ&GSEU is as follows :

To-all-the-Hon.-Members-of-Parliament-08.11.2022 Download

BIZ

CBSL names 8 more companies conducting prohibited schemes

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2024

editor

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has named 08 more entities that conduct and/or have conducted prohibited schemes.

“Participating in Pyramid Schemes is a Punishable Offence” Central Bank said in a notice to general public.

The named entities are :
1. Beecoin App/Sunbird Foundation
2. Fast Win (Pvt) Ltd
3. Fruugo Oline App/ Fruugo Oline (Pvt) Ltd
4. Genesis Business School/ Era Miracle (Pvt) Ltd
5. Isimaga International (Pvt) Ltd
6. Ledger Block
7. Qnet/Questnet
8. Ride to Three Freedom (Pvt) Ltd

BIZ

6 RfQs received to acquire SriLankan shares

Published

1 day ago

April 22, 2024

editor

Sri Lanka’s State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit (SOERU) announces that 06 Request For Qualifications (RfQ) were received for the acquisition of shares of SriLankan Airlines.
These RfQs were received from :

1. AirAsia Consulting Sdn. Bhd.
2. Dharshaan Elite Investment Holding (Pvt) Ltd
3. FITS Aviation (Private) Limited
4. Sherisha Technologies Private Limited
5. Treasure Republic Guardians Limited
6. Hayleys PLC

BIZ

Dialog, Axiata Group & Bharti Airtel to merge operations in SL

Published

6 days ago

April 18, 2024

nipuni

Dialog Axiata PLC, Axiata Group Berhad, and Bharti Airtel Limited have signed an agreement to merge their operations in Sri Lanka.

Dialog will acquire Airtel Lanka, with Bharti Airtel receiving ordinary voting shares in Dialog as part of the deal.

The deal has been approved by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL).
The statement issued in this regard is as follows :

Dialog Axiata PLC (“Dialog”), Axiata Group Berhad (“Axiata”) and Bharti Airtel Limited (“Bharti Airtel”) (collectively “the Parties”), signed a Definitive Agreement to combine their operations in Sri Lanka. Under this agreement, Dialog will acquire 100% of the issued shares in Airtel Lanka, in consideration of which Dialog will issue to Bharti Airtel, ordinary voting shares which will amount to 10.355% of the total issued shares of Dialog by way of a share swap. The transaction is subject to the approval of Dialog’s shareholders and is pending the completion of specific conditions outlined in the Share Sale Agreement, including clearance from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and completion of other applicable legal, corporate and regulatory compliance procedures.

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has granted its approval for the proposed merger, underscoring its vision to advance the adoption of telecommunications services across Sri Lanka.

This consolidation will enable the merged entity to garner economies of scale and reduce duplication of infrastructure, achieve synergies in technology and capital expenditure leading to enhanced high speed broadband connectivity, voice and value added services, cost savings and operational efficiencies.

Vivek Sood, Group CEO and Managing Director of Axiata Group Berhad said, “The merger between Dialog and Airtel Lanka is aligned to Axiata’s strategy of market consolidation and resilience. The merger will create value for the shareholders of Dialog Axiata PLC and Axiata Group through achievable synergies. We have the utmost respect for Airtel Lanka and its employees and look forward to working together as we integrate the two companies.”

Commenting, Dr Hans Wijayasuriya, CEO Telecommunications Business and Group Executive Director of Axiata, added “This merger brings together the strengths of two leading telco groups and bodes well for the Growth and Sustainability of Sri Lanka’s flagship Telecom Sector. We look forward to the new frontiers in Customer Experience and innovation the company will deliver to Sri Lankan Consumers and Enterprises.”

Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO Bharti Airtel Limited Said, “We are happy to merge our Sri Lanka operations with Dialog. Given the scale and unique propositions they offer, we are certain that our customers will continue to enjoy cutting edge services on a seamless network.”

“It is a privilege to welcome the team at Airtel Lanka to the Dialog family and together we take a significant step forward in our commitment to delivering superior telecommunications services in Sri Lanka”, remarked Supun Weerasinghe, Director/Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC.

“The integration of Dialog and Airtel Lanka operations will unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth, and this will lead to benefit consumers.” Ashish Chandra, Chief Executive Officer, Bharti Airtel Lanka (Private) Limited.