Opposition to new taxes
Several organisations representing professionals including doctors came together on Wednesday at Hyde Park Colombo to protest against the new taxes. Pic by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
Lanka’s new tax collection meets unforeseen obstacles
Sri Lanka’s three revenue collection authorities, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Customs Department (CD) and the Excise Department (ED) are facing a daunting task of collecting additional tax revenue of over Rs. 800 billion via the new tax revisions introduced in Budget 2023, several high ranking officials of the three departments said. Officers of these [...]
Solar plans see 2/3rds drop in 2022
The Sri Lankan Solar Energy industry has seen a 66 per cent drop in new solar power plants last year, compared to 2021 amply reflecting the unfeasibility of establishing new plants, thereby further putting a strain on the power supply to the national grid. In 2021, we developed about 150 megawatts of solar plants. Only [...]
Govt. to move out of fertiliser distribution
The government is likely to change its plan of action from the next cultivating season by ensuring that subsidies are provided on a limited scale and state agencies move out of the distribution of fertiliser. Starting from the next cultivating season the government will have to decide on the mode of operation in the distribution [...]
Allow CB’s independence – official parliamentary report
An official parliamentary report has urged that the Central Bank should be permitted to function as an independent institution that certifies its “accountability for financial regulations and inflation control”. The second report by the Sub-Committee of the National Council in identifying short and medium term programmes related to Economic Stabilisation, chaired by MP Patali Champika [...]
A new export order
During the early 1980s when Lalith Athulathmudali was trade minister, the rallying cry was “export or perish”. R. Paskaralingam and Dr. P.B. Jayasundera (at a junior level) were key members of that administration. That cry has come to haunt Sri Lanka and is more relevant today; the need to increase exports and income from services [...]
Power over the powerless
Right at this moment, when I sit down to write this column, there is a coal shipment waiting in the Northwestern sea off Puttalam for unloading at the Norochcholai coal power plant. But the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) does not have money to pay for that – not dollars, but rupees to buy dollars from [...]
Lanka’s power crisis due to forex, tariff hike issues
When Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) General Manager Rohan Seneviratne wakes up every morning, his first task is to check the water levels in the country’s reservoirs. “This is to ascertain how much hydropower (can be generated),” he said, speaking at a panel discussion last week on the “Power crisis” organised by the Sunday Times Business [...]
EDB signs MOU with Printcare Digital Solutions
The Sri Lanka Export Development Board (EDB), recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Printcare Digital Solutions Pvt Ltd, one of Sri Lanka’s leading printing and packaging solutions providers. The partnership aims to facilitate the upliftment of exporters by introducing them to most cutting-edge printing and packaging techniques to improve the competitiveness of their [...]
Stakeholders suggest power performance management for CEB
A power performance management system has been proposed for the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to cut down costs while tackling technical and financial inefficiency, as well as corruption, waste and procurement irregularities. This proposal was made at the stakeholder consultation on the proposed electricity tariff revision 2023 convened by the Public Utilities Commission of Sri [...]
Sri Lanka Tourism drives up promos this year
Sri Lanka tourism authorities are planning for a series of promotional campaigns, road shows and familiarisation tours in addition to the line-up of trade shows in several key markets as the industry hopes to generate increased arrivals this year. Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB) Director Marketing Dushan Wickramasuriya told the Business Times that while [...]
Sri Lanka grapples with unsustainable debt and dwindling revenue
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis is aggravating with unsustainable debt and dwindling revenue even amidst unprecedented tax reforms. The Finance Ministry aims to increase tax revenue by 69 per cent to fund government spending in the crisis-hit economy this year, but analysts say the revenue collection is still to adjust to the new taxes. This situation [...]
Mitsubishi Motors represented by United Motors
With reference to recent news report that Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp is winding up Sri Lankan operations next month, United Motors Lanka PLC, which is the sole distributor for Mitsubishi vehicles in Sri Lanka, wished to clarify that the relationship between United Motors Lanka PLC and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Japan remain unhindered. “Our valued customers can [...]
BOI firm saves Rs. 1.5 bn through local manufacture of saline
Kelun Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd, one of the largest pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities in Sri Lanka located at the Kandy Industrial Park., meets 40 per cent of total demand for saline in the country and has saved over Rs. 1.5 billion through the manufacture of saline locally, since 2017. This was revealed during an official visit to [...]