Committee on Public Finance questions delay of Gazette

The Committee on Public Finance this week questioned the officials of the Ministry of Finance as to why it took the Ministry 15 weeks to submit a Gazette published on the 16 th of June 2023 to the Committee on Public Finance for approval.

The Committee Members mentioned that, as a result, the Committee faces criticism for delaying the approval of certain Gazettes. In reality, it is the Ministry that causes these delays by submitting the Gazettes late, leaving the Committee insufficient time for thorough analysis and consideration.

The Committee emphatically instructed the officials to ensure that Gazettes intended for consideration are promptly sent to the Committee, without any unnecessary delays, and expressed great dissatisfaction with the current delays.

The issue was brought up  at the Committee on Public Finance held recently in Parliament, Chaired by Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva when the Committee met to consider and approve a Resolution under the Customs Ordinance, two Orders under the Excise Ordinance and three orders under the Excise (Special Provisions) Act, No. 13 of 1989.

The Committee reconsidered Resolutions under Customs Ordinance (Gazette Extraordinary No. 2336/72, 16th June 2023) at its meeting and noted that 'soap noodles' are imported for soap production, with a few companies importing palm oil fatty acids. Due to a new customs duty of 24% on palm fatty acids, certain companies are importing palmitic and lauric acids at lower tax rates in  order to produce soap noodles. To maintain market price equality and prevent tax revenue loss, a new tax of 29% is proposed to be imposed on these substituted acids, now categorized under a new HS code.