As 2023 ends, VAT’s in store for 2024
JANUARY
January 2- Cabinet approves proposal by Trade Minister Nalin Fernando to import eggs in a bid to control the steep rise. January 4 -Nominations are called for elections to 340 local councils. The Elections Commission (EC) they will be accepted from January 18 till noon January 21. January 5- President Ranil Wickremesinghe instructs Police Chief C D Wickramaratne to investigate construction of fake Dalada Maligawa at Pothuhera.
January 9- Archaeology Department complains to police on defamatory comments by YouTuber Sepal Amarasinghe regarding the Dalada Maligawa.
January 10 - Public Administration Ministry Secretary Neil Bandara Hapuhinna withdraws a circular issued earlier in the day directing District Secretaries to suspend taking deposits from candidates for the local government (LG) elections.
January 12 –Supreme Court (SC) orders former President Maithripala Sirisena to pay Rs.100mn in damages to the Easter Sunday attack victims while ex-IGP Pujith Jayasundara, ex-SIS Director Nilantha Jayawardena and ex-Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando are directed to pay Rs.75mn and Rs 50mn, respectively.
January 13- Public Utilities Commission of Sri Lanka (PUCSL) informs Cabinet there’s no legal basis for it to comply with a Cabinet request to implement the electricity tariff revision proposed by the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) as an “interim measure” with effect from January 1.
January 15- Presidential Secretariat issues new guidelines ordering ministers and officials to channel their international travel requests through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. January 19Parliament passes Regulation of Election Expenditure Bill.
January 19
Veteran filmmaker
Sumitra Peries dies
January 20 - EC announces 2023 LG election for March 9.
FEBRUARY
February 03- EC announces postal voting will be on February 22, 23 and 24.
February 3- Emeritus Archbishop Oswald Gomis passes away. February 4 – Sri Lanka celebrates 75th Independence Day. February 8 – President reads policy statement in Parliament.
February 8 -Eighteen, including an MP, taken into custody by Jaffna police for violating a court order banning protests within city limits. February 9 - Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) Deputy General Secretary Vadivel Suresh steps down from all his positions in protest against party leader Sajith Premadasa failing to attend a public rally in Passara.
February 10 and 11- Three earth tremors measuring 3.0, 3.5 and 2.3 on the Richter scale in Buttala and Wellawaya areas.
February 10- Petition seeking SC directive to postpone LG polls re-fixed for Feb 23
February 19- Janaraja Perahera” to commemorate the 75th Independence Day held.
February 20 – EC submits a motion to SC that under current circumstances it wasn’t possible to hold LG elections on March 9 as scheduled. February 23- SC unanimously refuses to grant leave to proceed and dismisses the Fundamental Rights (FR) application of Convener of the InterUniversity Bhikkhu Front (IUBF) Ven. Galwewa Siridhamma Thera against his detention under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA). February-28 Jaffna Municipal Council budget defeated for third time.
MARCH
March 1 – Western Province Civil Appeals High Court dismisses former President Sirisena’s appeal for dismissal from cases filed against him by Easter Sunday attack victims.
March 2 –State Bank of India completes its first non-dollar transaction with Sri Lanka by paying for exports in Sri Lankan rupees.
March 3 – EC delays decision on new LG poll dates.
March 5 – Decision to close more than 100 commissions, agencies and advisory boards on the basis that their services weren’t necessary or could be done by other institutions.
March 7 – LG elections rescheduled for April 25. March 8 – SriLankan Airlines celebrates International Women’s Day with an all-female crew.
March 11 – Quality of air in parts of Sri Lanka drops with the Air Quality Index (AQI) in Colombo reaching 151-200, an “unhealthy” level of concern. March 12 – Government Printer Gangani Liyanage announces they cannot print ballot papers in time for postal voting later in March.
March 14 – Postal service gazetted as essential. March 15 – The Ministerial Consultative Committee on Justice, Prison Affairs and Constitutional Reforms opposes making English the mandatory medium of examinations at Sri Lanka Law College.
March 16 – Cabinet decides to resume the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded USD 2.2bn Light Rail Transit (LRT) project from Malabe to Colombo Fort.
March 17 – Alleged underworld figure ‘Booru Moona’ arrested.
March 19 – Finance Ministry issues fresh circular ordering all State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) not financed through the Government budget to cut recurrent expenditure by 6 percent.
March 21 – Motion to conduct Sri Lanka Law College examinations in English medium overwhelmingly defeated in Parliament.
March 22 – Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) summons Director General of Health Services and National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) Chairman over medicine shortage.
March 23 – EC reschedules postal voting and LG election dates following consultations with political parties.
March 24 – Popular Indian Preacher Paul Dhinakaran and family ordered to leave Sri Lanka following allegations of visa misuse. March 25 – India’s Energy Ministry Secretary Pankaj Jain visits Sri Lanka. March 28 – Veteran Musician Professor Sangeeth Nipun Sanath Nandasiri and Former Speaker of Parliament Joseph Michael passes away.
March 29 – Retired
High Court Judge
K.B.K.
Hirimburegama appointed Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration (Ombudsman).
APRIL
April 1 – Veteran Actor Amarasiri Kalansuriya passes away.
April 2 – The first phase of “Guwan Hamuda Herali Perali” to plant three million jak trees countrywide launched at the Anuradhapura Air Force Base.
April 3 – Joint Naval exercise between Sri Lanka and India commences.
April 8 – Human Rights Watch (HRW) urges Sri Lankan Government to withdraw the proposed Anti-Terrorism Bill.
April 9 – President Wickremesinghe assures justice for Easter Sunday victims.
April 11 – LG election postponed for the second consecutive time.
April 12 – Police investigate disappearance of Rs. 5mn from a vault at the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL).
April 15 – A committee of Sri Lanka’s international private creditors sends its first proposal over US$ 12mn in outstanding bonds.
April 16 – Sri Lanka gets more time to repay Bangladesh’s US$ 200mn loan.
April 17 – Nine inmates escape from Thaldena open prison rehabilitation centre in Badulla.
April 18 – Cabinet green-lights proposed roadmap and timeline for CEB restructuring.
April 21 – Thousands form human chain protest and march to Colombo supporting the Church’s quest for truth and justice over 2019 Easter Sunday terror attacks. April 22 – Ven. Prof. Uthuruwala Dhammarathana Thera appointed new Chairman of the Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna (SLPP) party.
April 24 –Attorney General’s Department files action in a Singapore commercial court against the shipping company of MV X-Press Pearl which sank off Sri Lanka following a massive fire in 2021. April 25 – Report of the Presidential Commission that inquired into the Easter Sunday terror attacks turned over to the Chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
April 26 – Sri Lanka pushes back debt restructuring presentation to mid-May.
April 27 – The Anti-Corruption Bill tabled in Parliament.
April 29 – Notorious criminal ‘Ratmalane Kudu Anju’ arrested in France.
MAY
May 1- Doctor of Trincomalee Hospital who overdosed his wife with insulin arrested in Bambalapitiya.
May 1- Veteran actor G.R. Perera passes away at the age of 83.
May 4- Veteran actor Gnananga Gunawardena passes away at the age of 78.
May 6- President Wickremesinghe and First Lady Prof. Maithree Wickremesinghe attend King Charles’ III coronation in London. He meets with Commonwealth officials and visits the London Buddhist Vihara. May 6 - Body of a 16-year-old girl found near rail track in Kalutara after having fallen from a threestory motel. Three days later, a 29-year-old man is arrested in Galle over suspicion of her murder. May 11- An IMF staff team led by Peter Breuer meets President Wickremesinghe. They remain in Sri Lanka till May 23.
May 15- President orders CID to investigate controversial remarks by Pastor Jerome Fernando at one of his sermons which were seen as hurtful to believers of other religions. Buddhist religious groups complain to CID against his complaints. May 16- Pastor Jerome Fernando leaves for Singapore.
May 16- Chief Prelate of the Amarapura Maha Nikaya, Most Ven. Dodampahala Chandrasiri Thera passes away at the age of 84.
May 16- Earth tremors recorded in Kataragama. May 17- Popular singer Tony Hassan passes away at the age of 73.
May 17- Mrs. P.S.M. Charles made Governor of the Northern Province, Senthil Thondaman made Governor of the Eastern Province and Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena made Governor of North Western Province.
May 18- Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) convener Wasantha Mudalige released on bail after he and seven other porters were arrested near Kelaniya University on charges of causing injuries to police officers and obstructing their duties.
May 21- IUSF appoints Madushan Chandrajith as its new convener, replacing Mudalige.
May 22- Local manufacturers lower biscuit prices after a viral social media campaign that called for a boycott owing to high prices.
May 23- Kushani Anusha Rohanadeera appointed Secretary General of Parliament.
May 24-Puttalam District MP Ali Sabri Raheem arrested with undeclared gold and smartphones released after being fined Rs.7.5mn.
May 24- Motion seeking the removal of Janaka Ratnayake, PUCSL Chairman, passed in Parliament with a majority of 43.
May 25- Janashakthi Group Director Dinesh Schaffter’s body exhumed in the presence of a five-member expert committee for a forensic examination to determine cause of death. It is taken to Karapitiya Teaching Hospital for further
investigation.
May 27- Veteran diplomat Deshamanya Jayantha Dhanapala dies at the age of 85.
May 28- Stand-up comedian Nathasha Edirisooriya arrested by CID at the BIA on complaints she had insulted Buddhism.
JUNE
June 1- Sri Lanka Army medical team headed by consultant urologist Lieutenant Colonel Dr. K. Sutharshan of Army Hospital, Colombo, enters Guinness Book of World Records for removing world’s largest and heaviest kidney stone. June 1- Sri Lanka Telecom, Colombo Lotus Tower Management Company, State Engineering Corporation among 12 institutions brought under Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Ministry via gazette issued by President Wickremesinghe. June 1- President delivers a special statement, highlighting his intention to make Sri Lanka a developed nation by 2048. June 7- Harsha de Silva nominated Chairman of the Committee on Public Finance. June 9- Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera tells Parliament a Chinese company is willing to import Sri Lankan toque macaque monkeys. Government later scraps plans to export monkeys to China. June 11- Dr. Asha de Vos, Dr. Rohan Pethiyagoda, Prof. Chathurange Ranasinghe and Ashani Savinda Ranathunga named among the top 100 scientists in Asia in the 2023 edition of the “Asian Scientist”. June 13- Former Minister Navin Dissanayake appointed Sabaragamuwa Province Governor. June 15- An initiative to apply online for passports commences with biometric registration available at 51 divisional secretariats. June 27- World Bank announces release of US$ 250mn of the total US$ 500mn “Sri Lanka Resilience, Stability and Economic Turnaround (RESET) Development Policy Operation (DPO)”. June 27- “Mahavamsa”, the Great Chronicle of Sri Lanka, added to UNESCO’s Memory of the World-2023. June 27- Cabinet approves proposal for a Gambling Regulatory Authority. June 28- Cabinet at a special meeting sanctions a domestic debt restructuring programme. June 30- R.M.A.L. Ratnayake appointed EC Chairman. Retired Supreme Court Judge L.T.B. Dehideniya is made HRCSL Chairman. June 30- Air Vice Marshal Udeni Rajapaksa promoted to Air Marshal and appointed the 19th Air Force Commander.
JULY
July 1 - Parliament approves domestic debt optimisation (DDO) plan by majority of 60 votes; 122 voted in favour while 62 voted against it. July 4 - Sri Lanka receives first disbursement of US$250 million from World Bank July 9 – C. D. Wickramaratne gets three-month extension to serve as IGP from President. July 16 – Colombo Port City artificial beach is opened to the public. July 16 – Government decides to lift bans on five of 11 Islamic organisations under strict conditions. July 18 – Opposition decides to bring a no-confidence motion against Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella. July 19 – Yuan Jiajun, Central Committee Member of the Communist Party of China, visits Sri Lanka. July 19 –Anti-Corruption Bill passed with 190 amendments. July 20 – Dilmah founder Merrill J. Fernando passes away at age 93. July 21 – President Wickremesinghe visits India for the first time as President. July 23 – Commemorations held to mark the 40-year remembrance of “Black July”. July 26 – Sri Lanka ratifies the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, becoming the 178th country to do so. July 28 – Sri Lanka welcomes first ever visit of a French President, Emmanuel Macron, while Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa also visits.
AUGUST
August 1 – A measles outbreak closes Vavuniya prison for over a week.
August 7 - Amidst a prolonged drought, a group of protesting farmers try to enter Samanalawewa Reservoir to force officials to open the hydromechanical gates and release water to the Udawalawe Reservoir. August 10 – Chinese warship Hai Yang 24 Hao arrives in Colombo. August 11 – A fire at the Thabbowa Wildlife Sanctuary razes over 300 acres. August 15 – A gazette is issued relaxing import restrictions on various vehicles. August 17 – A fire breaks out at two chemical factories in the Homagama Industrial Zone. August 21 – A bacterial form of meningitis caused by meningococcus bacteria begins spreading among Galle Prison inmates, killing two. August 31 – Sinopec starts work in Sri Lanka, selling petrol and diesel at a 3% discount while the Ceylon Petroleum Cooperation and Indian Oil Company raise prices.
SEPTEMBER
September 1- National Fuel Pass QR System introduced in August 2022 suspended. September 5- Britain’s Channel 4 airs documentary on 2019 Easter bombings which interviews whistleblowers who claim some Sri Lankan officials met with the suicide bombers and their leaders before the attacks. Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa denies the bombings were carried out to enable his victory at the presidential polls.
September 8 - No-confidence motion against Health Minister Keheliya Rambukwella defeated by 40 votes. September 10- Escape attempt by notorious underworld figure Nadun Chinthaka alias Harak Kata thwarted when, while being questioned by CID, he tried to snatch a firearm of a STF sub-inspector and flee. CID commences search operation for the escaped police officer suspected of aiding Harak Kata’s failed escape attempt.
September 12 - President declares railways services as essential amidst strike. Railway Department pays Rs. 500,000 as compensation for the family of an 18-year-old boy who fell off the roof of an overcrowded train. Military deployed at main railway stations.
September 13 - Agriculture Ministry says over 65,000 acres of paddy land are destroyed by drought and heavy rains. September 18- President Wickremesinghe meets with World Bank President Ajay Banga at the UN headquarters in New York.
September 19 - President meets Samantha Power, Administrator of USAID.
September 21- President Wickremesinghe addresses the UN General Assembly in New York, emphasising need for interconnectedness to face challenges from climate change to debt and sustainable development.
September 23- State Minister of Finance says Sri Lanka paid Rs. 50mn as the final settlement of the Rs.200mn loan obtained from Bangladesh. September 28- Mullaitivu District Judge T. Saravanarajah tenders his resignation from all judicial posts citing threats to his life and “stressful situation”.
OCTOBER
October 1-Ban on import, production, sale and local use of seven single-use plastic/polythene products comes into effect.
October 2- President in an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle (DW) news agency says there is no necessity for an international probe into the 2019 Easter Sunday attacks.
October 4- Litro increases gas price--12.5kg cylinder goes up by Rs. 343 making it Rs. 3,470.
October 4- Former Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunga and former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal acquitted of charges by Colombo Fort Magistrate over the case involving an alleged payment of US$ 6.5mn through CBSL to US businessman Imaad Shah Zuberi in 2014. October 5- Bad weather hits over 50,000 persons. Nilwala River overflows causing a floodn in Akuressa and surrounding areas of the Matara district. Landslide warnings issued in mountainous regions of the South and Uva. October 6- Five killed and twelve injured after a tree falls on a SLTB bus near the Liberty roundabout in Kollupitiya. October 6- Twenty-five-year-old police constable dies after being hit by a SUV at the Independence Square roundabout. October 6- Environment Minister Naseer Ahamed loses his parliamentary seat following a landmark SC ruling validating his expulsion by the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC). President takes over the Environment Ministry. October 11- SLMC nominates Ali Zahir Mowlana to fill the vacant parliamentary seat. October 9Veteran actor Jackson Anthony passes away after being in the Colombo National Hospital’s ICU for 14 months. October 17- Sri Lanka’s second set of sextuplets born at the Castle Street Hospital for Women. One dies while at the NICU of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital. October 17- The Committee on Public Accounts, one of Sri Lanka’s oldest Parliamentary financial oversight bodies, turns 100. October 17- Sri Lankan caregiver Anula Jayathilake, who was reported missing in Israel following the October 7 Hamas attack, confirmed dead. October 20- Eminent Sri Lankan traditional dancer Kalasuri Vishwa Kala Keerthi Rajini Selvanayagam passes away. October 21- Former Chairman of Ceylinco Consolidated and founding Chairman of Seylan Bank Deshmanya Deshabandu Lalith Kotelawala passes away at the age of 84. October 23- In a Cabinet reshuffle, Dr. Ramesh Pathirana is appointed new Health Minister; Keheliya Rambukwella the new Environment Minister; and Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera given the Plantations portfolio. October 26- Former Army Commander General (Rtd) L.P. Balagalle passes away while being treated at the Army Hospital, Colombo. October 27- Fire in Pettah shopping complex leaves 23 injured. October 25- Chinese geophysical scientific research vessel, Shi Yan 6, arrives at Colombo Port to conduct research alongside Sri Lanka’s National Aquatic Resources Agency. October 30- Veteran cricket cheerleader Percy Abeysekera passes away at 87. October 31- Court imposes travel ban on Sugath Janaka Fernando, owner of the drug firm which allegedly supplied fake human intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) to the Health Ministry based on purportedly falsified documents. October 31- Senior Consultant Physician Dr. Ananda Wijewickrema appointed the new NMRA Chairman.
NOVEMBER
November 1- India’s Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman arrives in Sri Lanka. November 1 - Colombo Additional Magistrate Rajindra Jayasuriya rules that the death of businessman and Director of Janashakthi Insurance Dinesh Shaffter was an act of crime. November 2 - Seventeen Sri Lankans allowed to leave Palestine and enter Egypt through the Rafah border crossing. November 2 - Colombo High Court acquits MP Namal Rajapaksa and five others over alleged involvement in laundering money amounting to Rs.30 million through Gowers Corporate Services (Pvt) Limited. November 4- IGP C.D. Wickramaratne gets his fourth three-week extension. November 6 - Veteran singer Athula Sri Gamage passes away at the age of 60. November 7- Cabinet subcommittee appointed to resolve issues in Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC). November 8 - Postal services declared essential through a gazette notification. November 10 - Central Environment Authority (CEA) Chairman Supun S. Pathirage arrested by the Bribery Commission for allegedly soliciting a bribe of Rs. 10mn in exchange for issuing approvals for a project. November 11- Veteran editor Gamini Weerakoon passes away. November 12 - CEA Chairman Pathirage suspended by the Environmental Ministry. November 13 – President presents Budget 2024 to Parliament. November 14 - CEB introduces e-billing system for the convenience of customers. November 16 – Committee on Public Enterprises (COPE) Chairman Prof. Ranjith Bandara accused of conflict of interest with Sri Lanka Cricket. November 17 - Court of Appeal orders not to arrest Pastor Jerome Fernando on arrival from abroad. He was accused of making a controversial statement regarding Buddhism. November 21- Second Reading of Budget 2024 passed in Parliament. November 22 – State Minister Sanath Nishantha suspended from Parliament for two weeks due to unruly behaviour inside the Chamber. November 22 - Controlled prices imposed on white and brown sugar removed by the Consumer Affairs Authority. November 27 - Former Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe removed from all his ministerial posts. Pavithra Wanniarachchi is sworn in as Irrigation Minister while Harin Fernando is made Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs. November 28 - Free visas announced for nationals from China, India, Indonesia, Russia, Thailand, Malaysia and Japan until March 2024. November 29- Six artifacts looted from the Kandy palace of King Kirthi Sri Rajasinghe during the Dutch invasion in 1756, brought to the country. November 29 - Deshabandu Tennakoon appointed as Acting IGP for three months.
DECEMBER
December 1- Pastor Jerome Fernando arrested and remanded until December 13 December 2 – Parliament votes to suspend State Minister Diana Gamage and SJB MPs Sujith Sanjaya Perera and Rohana Bandara for one month over a brawl between them in Parliament’s the Parliament lobby on October 20. December 4 - President Wickremesinghe and delegates arrive at COP28 in Dubai December 9 Transmission system failure causes island-wide blackout. December 11 - VAT (Amendment) Bill passed in Parliament. December 11 - Over 100 inmates escape from Kandakadu Rehabilitation Centre. December 13 – Budget 2024 passed in Parliament by 122 votes to 81. December 14 - Former Kurunegala Mayor Thushara Sanjeewa and four others sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment over demolition of the Raja Sabha Mandapaya (Royal Assembly Hall) of King Buwanekabahu in Kurunegala. December 15 - Retirement age of specialist doctors extended to 63. December 15 - Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa reappointed Leader of the Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna (SLPP). December 18 - CID arrests Former Health Ministry Secretary Janaka Sri Chandraguptha over the importing substandard immunoglobulin. He is remanded until December 27. December 23 - Covid death reported from Kandy after several months. December 24 - Veteran actor Rex Kodippili dies at the age of 85. December 26 - CID records statement from Keheliya Rambukwella at his residence over importing substandard human immunoglobulin to the country during his tenure. December 27 - Pastor Jerome Fernando further remanded till January 03, 2024.