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SLRC has not paid VAT for 5 yrs?

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State owned national TV – Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation owes the Department of Inland Revenue (IRD) nearly Rs. 750 million as unpaid Value-added Tax (VAT), reports reveal.

It is said that the SLRC had not paid VAT for nearly 05 years.

In this backdrop, the IRD is reportedly taking measures to collect these unpaid taxes from companies that owe money to the SLRC.

Accordingly, the Acting Commissioner General of the IRD has informed the Development Lotteries Board to pay the IRD nearly Rs. 40 million it owes the SLRC monthly, for telecasting lottery draws.

Meanwhile, Dr. Prasad Samarasinghe, who has been functioning as the Chairman of the SLRC for nearly 05 months now, has also reportedly pulled strings to evade paying this tax.

It is said higher officials and the Acting Commissioner General of the IRD have been pressured over the matter, through Media Minister – Bandula Gunawardena, requesting leniency until the end of this year.

However, if a small scale entrepreneur had chosen to pay salaries and other expenses while leaving the taxes unpaid, the IRD would have sought legal redress.

The cause given by the SLRC Chairman for this tax evasion, is the major income slump being faced by the channel.

However, Trade Union representatives are of the view that the Chairman has been trying to peck into the SLRC’s YouTube channel earnings instead of motivating the staff to come up with productions to elevate the channel.

Meanwhile, it is also reported that the conduct of Mr. Samarasinghe had led to IRD doubting whether he is correctly paying taxes due for his local and offshore properties in Australia.

Busy day
Upon contacting the Acting Commissioner General of the IRD  – Mr. Upul Jayawardena in this regard, ‘Sri Lanka Mirror’ was told that he is unable to answer our query today as he is tied up with several discussions related to Budget 2024, throughout the day.

VAT increase due to this?
Meanwhile, Cabinet approval was recently granted to increase VAT from 15% to 18% from Jan. 01, 2024.

Speaking to ‘Sri Lanka Mirror’ on condition of anonymity, several company owners that are paying taxes, claimed that non-payment of taxes by state institutions had been a factor behind the decision to increase VAT.

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Materials worth Rs. 12 mn. from consumer goods warehouse, misplaced

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The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) met recently under the chairmanship of the State Minister Hon. Lasantha Alagiyawanna and the Auditor General’s reports for the years 2020, 2021 and 2022 and the current performance of the Ministry of Defence were discussed.

Secretary to the Ministry of Defence, General (retired) Kamal Gunaratne and a group of officers participated in this meeting.

Expedite amendment of Firearms Act

COPA had directed the officials of the Ministry of Defence to expedite the amendment of the Firearms (Amendment) Act No. 22 of 1996 and the Explosives (Amendment) Act, which have been delayed for many years.
Although the committee had recommended to amend the Firearms (Amendment) Act No. 22 of 1996 and the Explosives (Amendment) Act since 2012, it was revealed that it has been delayed due to various reasons. Officials also said that so far about 37,000 firearms have been licensed in the country. The officials mentioned that the amendment of the Act is in the final stage and the draft bill will be completed soon. The committee emphasized the need to speed up the process as the license fees should be revised and the state revenue will be lost due to this delay. Accordingly, it was also advised to submit a report on the progress.

Although it was mentioned in the constitution that the revenues generated by the services provided to external parties by the armed forces should be credited to the consolidated fund, attention was also drawn to the fact that it was not implemented properly. Although it was previously informed to prepare a proper system related to it and report to the committee, the committee asked about the fact that it has not yet been prepared. The Auditor General’s Department pointed out that since most of the income goes to the welfare associations, a proper system should be set up. Although the services are being successfully carried out, the committee also advised to prepare a clear system in this regard. He also instructed the ministry officials to review this process extensively.

Procurement of food itemsSpecial attention was also paid to the procurement of food items for the three-armed forces. It was revealed at the committee that although earlier recommendations had been given to set up an information management system connecting all the institutions involved in the food items procurement process for the three-armed forces, it is being implemented only in the Navy and the Air Force. Accordingly, the officers were ordered to expedite the preparation of the system for the Army and to submit a report on this. Also, it was emphasized in the committee that parties including the soldiers should receive a meal commensurate with the money spent by the government.

There was also a discussion regarding hiring a housing complex with 24 house units on a lease agreement for 72 million rupees, in order to provide accommodation for the 31 officers participating in the course of the National Defence Academy. Instead of getting houses on such a rent, the Committee Chair advised to pay attention to the possibility of providing accommodation facilities by constructing a new building. The Defence Secretary pointed out that since the construction has been stopped due to the current economic situation, measures will be taken in the future.

Materials worth Rs. 12 mn. misplaced!Attention was also drawn to the misplacement of materials worth 12 million rupees in the consumer goods warehouse. The officials said that all those persons related to this have been suspended and steps have been taken to collect the related money from the storekeeper. It was discussed why this incident was not revealed by the internal audit until it was uncovered by the audit of the Auditor General’s Department.

Apart from this, attention was also paid to the strategic communication network project, procurement process, role of Disaster Management Centre (DMC) etc.

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Major drug bust at Central Mail Exchange

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The Sri Lanka Customs at the Central Mail Exchange (CME) seized multiple consignments containing psychedelic drugs worth over Rs. 43 million, sent from European countries addressed to bogus recipients in Sri Lanka.

Customs Narcotics Control Unit officials following a special surveillance inside the CME detected 25 parcels sent from Germany and the United Kingdom during the weekend and found a variety of narcotics.

The parcels contained the Cannabis variety of ‘Kush’ weighing 1.74 Kgs, Methamphetamine drug contained 2,193 tablets of Ecstasy and 29 grams of Amphetamine drug varieties.

Customs Spokesman Senior Director Seevali Arukgoda said the parcels had been addressed to recipients in Colombo, Battaramulla, Maharagama, Boralesgamuwa, Panadura, Moratuwa and Kandy but all those were found to be fake addresses.

The Customs officials with the CME’s Postal Department officials carried out the inquiries and the contraband was to be handed over to the Police Narcotic Bureau (PNB).

(dailymirror.lk)

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First digitized National Birth Certificate in SL, issued

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The first digitized National Birth Certificate with a barcode was issued today (Nov. 05).

The launch event was held at the Kalutara District Secretariat under the patronage of State Minister of Home Affairs –  Ashoka Priyantha.

The state minister notes that measures are already underway to broaden this programme to other districts.

He added that the number given in this National Birth Certificate will be converted into the National Identity Card number as per international standards.

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