Purchasing power of books by readers fell by 17% this year
People’s purchasing power on books has drastically dropped by 17 per cent this year with the imposition of 18 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) since the beginning of this year. The Sri Lanka Book Publishers Association (SLBPA) unsuccessfully lobbied the former government against the move.
Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe, an ardent reader himself, once during a parliament session this year mentioned that he will exempt the 18 per cent VAT on books; but he couldn’t make it happen.
During a media briefing held in Colombo, the SLBPA together with three other industry bodies urged the present National Peoples Power (NPP) government to include ‘exemption of 18 per cent VAT on books’ in its first national budget 2025 which is to be submitted early next year in parliament.
SLBPA President, Samantha Indeewara highlighted that book readers cannot afford to buy books with 18 per cent VAT included. “We are hoping that the VAT on books will be exempted beginning
2025. Already local printers are subjected to more than 30 per cent VAT when importing raw materials,” he added.
A book publisher, Ven. Embilipitiya Vijitha Thero stressed that 90 per cent of raw materials imported to print a book are VAT included. On top of that an additional 18 per cent VAT is a burden to the reader. “The present government consists of an educated group of parliamentarians we believe, thus they should consider exempting the 18 per cent VAT in the 2025 budget proposal,” he noted.
Book Importers Association, President, Pradeep Samaranayaka stated, “People purchasing books have dropped by 17 per cent this year compared to 2023. School and university students are photocopying books as it is expensive to buy brand new books. We cannot compete in the international market as our books prices are high. Sri Lanka should be accessible to global literature.”
Meanwhile last month, Senior Advisor to the President on Economic and Financial Affairs, Prof Anil Jayantha during a meeting organised by the Sri Lanka Agricultural Development Council noted that a reduction in VAT from the current 18 per cent to as low as seven or five per cent is under consideration for books.
During the media briefing when the Business Times raised the question, “What if the government comes up with a reduced VAT limitation, instead of exemption of 18 per cent VAT?” the associations in unison expressed acceptance of such a decision.
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