Cabinet approval has been granted to extend the agreement with the Singaporean company handling the Revenue Administration Management Information System (RAMIS), says Chairman of the Sectoral Oversight Committee on Alleviating the Impact of the Economic Crisis – MP Gamini Waleboda.
Accordingly, the pact, which was in place for the last 10 years and was set to expire on Jan. 31, 2024, is to be extended for a period of 03 years.
MP Waleboda had told the media that they were compelled to extend the pact as no alternative choice existed.
Although Rs. 16,000 million have been paid for the RAMIS so far, the IRD has not been able to get complete control of the system. That is said to be because the relevant agreement includes a non-disclosure clause to third parties.
However, past media reports had revealed of how hidden mediators who had paved the way for this agreement, had earned high commissions.
It was also previously reported that the Department of Inland Revenue had failed to collect a tax revenue arrears, fines and interest income amounting to Rs. 201,400 million from state institutions.
Not collecting arrears tax revenue under both RAMIS and Legacy systems was also discussed at the COPA last year.
According to a Parliament statement last year, it had also been disclosed that the internal capacity including the human resources required for the IRD to take over the RAMIS system has not been developed.
In this backdrop, during a meeting of the Ways and Means Committee in July last year, MP Patali Champika Ranawaka had recommended that the IRD submit a report in this regard.
He has also stated that the report should include a structured proposal for updating the system to adopt the RAMIS system.
Meanwhile, the non-inclusion of large companies such as the Dedigama Group in Maharagama to the RAMIS, had also sparked controversy.
Related News :
Rs. 904 bn. arrears amount due to IRD – COPA
How was Dedigama Group excluded from RAMIS?
