By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): The government is set to widen the tax base rather than increasing tax rates without adverse impacts on the processes of investment and on living conditions of the low and middle income groups in Sri Lanka.

In this context fresh amendments to Inland Revenue Act will be introduced soon to raise revenues from the current level of 14-15 % of GDP to higher levels of above 20 % of GDP that are visible in more developed countries in the world.

Whatever the methods adopted in the short run to mobilize the required funds for financing development projects, eventually it is tax revenue buoyancy that is required because tax revenues are needed to repay in future the loans taken today with interest as well as to meet the continually rising new resource needs of the government official sources said.

With an aim to broaden the tax base by enabling electronic payments coupled with mandatory reporting for state institutions, the government plans to bring in fresh amendments to Inland Revenue Act, No.24 of 2017 in Parliament for approval this Friday.

Under the proposed amendments, Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya yesterday revealed that it would be made mandatory to submit the tax files of personal income taxpayers in electronic format.

“The new amendments will provide the necessary provisions to discourage cash transactions. So, we can calculate real taxes owed by taxpayers based on their electronic transactions.

If someone makes over Rs.500, 000 worth of purchases on a daily basis, then the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) would not permit them to reduce the amount above Rs.500,000 from their expenses. Therefore, they will definitely have to follow an electronic payment method,” he said.

Although earlier it was not mandatory for state institutions such as the Motor Traffic Department and state banks to report their transactions to the IRD officially, the minister noted that once the proposed amendments are passed in Parliament, such state institutions, which perform large numbers of transactions with the public, would be required to report them to the IRD.

In addition, the minister noted that the proposed amendments would also resolve the complications related to the withholding tax.

It has become a big problem as agents have not been able to release interest incomes below Rs.100,000, which doesn’t fall under the withholding tax bracket, to depositors in an expedited manner.

Under the proposed amendments, the withholding agents will be enabled to release such funds within a short period of time,” he added.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW): A year after crisis-hit Sri Lankans stood in long queues outside fuel stations, foreign oil companies will be able to sell fuel in the island nation at a lower rate than what the state-owned oil firm sells at present, Energy Ministry sources said.

The Sri Lankan cabinet of ministers recently decided to grant licenses to foreign oil companies to sell oil in the domestic retail market.

Three companies – China’s Sinopec, United Petroleum of Australia, and RM Parks of the United States in a collaboration with Shell — will soon start operating in the country

The US-based oil company RM Parks Inc. and the British multinational oil and gas company Shell PLC have held a discussion with Minister of Power & Energy Kanchana Wijesekera on commencing retail fuel sales in Sri Lanka in the first week of June this year.

The lawmaker held a virtual meeting with the officials of the two companies yesterday (April 26) to discuss the agreements, policies, logistics, and timeline pertaining to the commencement of operations here.

Accordingly, it was decided to set a date in mid-May to sign the relevant agreements, Wijesekera said in a tweet.

Following a visit to the Ceylon Petroleum Storage Terminals Limited (CPSTL) tank farm last week the technical officials of the RM Parks Inc. and Shell PLC offered to upgrade CPSTL berthing facilities to be in line with international standards and safety requirements, the minister said further.

Officials of Power & Energy Ministry, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the Board of Investment, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation & the CPSTL also joined the discussion.

Meanwhile, team of China-based Sinopec officials and technical experts are currently in Sri Lanka to finalize the agreements and commencement of operation for retail fuel sales here.

They met with Wijesekera on Tuesday (April 25) to decide on a timeline, conditions of the agreement and other concerns.

Accordingly, it has been decided to sign the relevant agreements by mid-May and commence the operations 45 days after the signing, the minister said in a tweet posted earlier.

Last month, the Cabinet of Ministers green-lighted a proposal to allow three foreign oil companies to commence their fuel distribution operations in Sri Lanka.

Thereby, retail licenses will be granted to China-based Sinopec, Australia-based United Petroleum and US-based RM Parks Inc., in collaboration with London-based Shell PLC.

Minister Wijesekera, earlier this month, revealed that each company will handle 150 CPC dealer-operated filling stations in the local market.

At present, a total of 1,142 filling stations are under the purview of the CPC, however, the corporation fully owns only 234 of them, the minister explained, adding that 450 out of the remaining 908 filling stations owned by private distributors would be allocated to the three foreign oil companies.

By: Staff Writer

Colombo (LNW):Sri Lanka’s existing limited infrastructure and resources in the health care waste management system has created an additional burden on Health Care Facilities (HCFs) and the Health Ministry to safeguard staff and the environment, research report revealed.

According to the Central Environmental Authority (CEA), it is estimated that daily clinical waste generation is around 25 Metric Tonnes (MT) in the country.

In this context the Health ministry has accorded priorty to strengthen infectious waste management in government hospitals by implementing healthcare waste management project to implement infectious waste management in government hospitals

Accordingly Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has stepped in to support this project by providing Japanese Yen five hundred and three million (Approximately Rs 1.3 bn)

The Project aims to strengthen infectious waste management by installing medical waste incinerators in selected public hospitals, thereby contributing to the reduction of health hazards.

In order to achieve the above purpose, 15 hospitals have been selected to install incinerators covering all the provinces in Sri Lanka.

A total of 15 incinerators will be provided in two capacities with LP Gas burners, automatic temperature control systems and compliance with the environment standards under the project.

It will also extend the necessary technical guidance to the Ministry of Health as a soft component of the project for Training of Trainers (TOT) to maintain the system after the installation of equipment under the Project.

The relevant Exchange Notes related to the grant has been signed by K.M Mahinda Siriwardana, the Secretary, Ministry of Finance, in the presence of MIZUKOSHI Hideaki, the Ambassador of Government of Japan to Sri Lanka.

The Grant Agreement was signed by K.M Mahinda Siriwardana, Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies and YAMADA Tetsuya, Chief Representative, JICA Sri Lanka Office on April 26, 2023 at the Ministry of Finance.

It has been found that many hospitals, particularly regional and base hospitals lack adequate resources for proper medical waste disposal, so they burn clinical waste openly, instead of incinerating such waste.

“Though the medical staff is well aware of the consequences of not doing proper incineration, finance and admin officers do not fully understand the implication and hence tend to give low priorities,” the research report revealed.

The report also highlighted the gendered nature of healthcare waste management, with more than eighty percent of sanitation workers being women, which is largely unrecognized with increased exposure to risks and solid waste contamination.

In 2019, the National Audit Report on Health Care Waste Management (HCWM) pointed out that healthcare waste and solid waste management is a major social and environmental challenge in Sri Lanka which needs urgent attention.