The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has announced that locally produced liquid milk and yogurt are now exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT), following the enactment of the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill.

In a statement issued this week, the IRD clarified that the VAT exemption took effect on April 11, the day Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne endorsed the certificate on the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill in Parliament. The Bill was passed in Parliament on April 09.

The IRD emphasized that, to qualify for the exemption, liquid milk products must contain at least 50% fresh milk.

In addition, VAT was also removed on naphtha supplied by the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) to the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) for electricity generation.

New tax obligations
Meanwhile, the amendment introduces new tax obligations for the digital economy. From October 01, VAT will be imposed on digital services provided by non-resident entities to consumers in Sri Lanka through electronic platforms. This move aligns with global trends in taxing cross-border digital services.

Further, the department announced that all individuals and entities engaged in the commercial import or export of goods are now required to register under the updated VAT framework.

Colombo Additional Magistrate Manjula Ratnayake has issued a conditional restraining order to prevent the dissemination of false and defamatory statements about retired Major General Ashoka Thoradeniya through electronic, print, and social media.

The order, effective until April 30th, was issued against Rahubadda Kankanamge Indrananda de Silva.

The magistrate also ordered Indrananda de Silva to present his case in court on April 30th.

This decision was made under Section 24 of the Online Safety Act No. 9 of 2024, following a complaint by Major General Thoradeniya.

President’s Counsel Sanjay Rajaratnam and Attorney-at-Law Sudath Jayasundara argued that the statements made about Major General Thoradeniya violated Sections 24 and 12 of the Online Safety Act.

They requested a restraining order to prevent further dissemination of these statements.

After considering the arguments, the Additional Magistrate issued the restraining order.

(News1st)

(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by News1st has not been edited by SLM staff)

Pivithuru Hela Urumaya (PHU) leader Udaya Gammanpila said yesterday that former State Minister Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pilleyan played a key role in smoking out LTTE terrorists from the eastern province.

Gammanpila, who visited Pilleyan in his capacity of a lawyer, told a press conference that such sacrifices during the war had contributed to the current peaceful environment in the country.

Pilleyan is currently held under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) in connection with a disappearance case.

“Let’s keep aside this case for a moment! I spoke with him for half an hour in the presence of four CID officers. Yet, a suspect’s interaction with his lawyer is a confidential affair. I brought it to the notice of these officers, but they remained there. Now there four eye witnesses to what I said,” Gammanpila said.

According to him, Pilleyan, with tears rolling down his cheeks, said how he defected from the LTTE and fought against the organization at the cost of his life.

Gammanpila said those who sided with the LTTE at that time had ended up being parliamentarians and NGO leaders.

“I spoke with Pillayan on April 13, the day of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, in the presence of four police officers. This was after the President and the Minister of Law and Order made statements implying Pillayan was connected to the Easter Sunday attacks. Pillayan has not said a single word about the Easter Sunday attacks, as he knows nothing about it to even make such a statement.”

“If someone is accusing a person who was in custody from 2015 to 2020 of being involved in the 2019 Easter attacks, then that person’s mental state needs to be examined. There are many politicians who have taken photos with Zahran. If one of them was arrested as the mastermind, at least there would be a small basis for such a claim.”

He said the President had signed the detention order against Pilleyan, but there is no implication of him in the Easter Sunday attack.

He said the President pledged to make some startling revelations regarding investigations into the Easter attack before April 21.

“There are only a few more days for the deadline. The President is now fixed being unable to make any revelation. The police have deceived him,” he said.

(dailymirror.lk)

(This story, originally published by dailymirror.lk has not been edited by SLM staff)