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Crackdown on unregulated foreigner-run businesses: Habaraduwa Pradeshiya Sabha officers in door-to-door inspection
As controversy grows over unregulated foreigner-run businesses, revenue inspectors from the Habaraduwa Pradeshiya Sabha—covering the main tourist towns of Unawatuna, Habaraduwa and Ahangama—started going door-to-door last week to gather registration details of companies to be given to the Immigration and Emigration Department.
The inspectors were accompanied by police to eliminate the risk of any resistance, official sources said. “Some of these villa operators do not open the gates,” one explained. “Having the tourist police there helps.”
The visits were conducted after instructions were given out at a Divisional Coordinating Committee (DCC) meeting on March 6 to collect records so that action could be taken on foreigner-run enterprises that were either illegal or skirted the boundaries of the law, resulting in loss of tax revenues to the country.
There are also a rising number of travellers on visitor visas doing business such as yoga teaching, surf camps, DJ services, photography, accommodation, cafes and so on. Apart from this being a violation of Immigration law—a crime taken seriously in the countries many of these roving service providers originate from—discussions on online forums show local entrepreneurs are also increasingly pushing back.
In addition to company registrations (which require articles of association, shareholder details, etc.) the Habaraduwa Divisional Secretariat was instructed to search its files for business registrations. “We found three business registrations attributed to foreigners,” said Divisional Secretary Kusalaka Nanayakkara.
“We collect only land ownership, and the nature of the business, depending on which we might need further approvals and recommendations from other institutions,” he continued. “If these entities were set up through the Registrar of Companies, it is revenue inspectors that must get the information through door-to-door visits.”
Foreigners with partnerships in such companies could be dual citizens or possess residential visas or work permits which allow them to run a business or provide a service, he explained. And they must have certificates to show their eligibility—for instance, a surfing coach needs an international licence.
One of the main issues the authorities have faced in regulating this sector is the paucity of information, they said. The DCC had given them two weeks to gather and to relay the information to the Immigration Department.
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