BANDULA: MINISTRY CAN’T IMPOSE FEE

Finance Ministry does not have authority to introduce Fee ....

The Finance Ministry did not have the authority to introduce the new Annual Company Registration Fee under the Companies Act, the Joint Opposition said yesterday.

However, at present, 100 percent of the finances were claimed for the Joint Fund. Only the Registrar is authorised to do it

Addressing a media briefing, Joint Opposition MP Bandula Gunawardane said the new registration fee would be annually implemented on private companies with a fee of Rs. 60,000.

“For public companies the fee is Rs. 100,000 and for listed public companies the fee is Rs. 500,000,” he claimed.

“These companies had to pay this fee before the end of March, but many of those companies were not able to pay and now the payment period had been extended to end June,” he added.

He said the local companies were rendered helpless due to this situtation.

“Nearly 5,000 companies had been shut down with the newly introduced annual fee,” he added.

He said such levies could only be done by the Registrar of Companies under the Companies Act of 2007.

He said the finances charged by the Registrar of Companies were earlier centered as 2/3 for the Companies’ Fund and 1/3 for the Joint Fund under the Company Act.

“However, at present, 100 percent of the finances were claimed for the Joint Fund. Only the Registrar is authorised to do it,” he said. He said as a Joint Opposition, they assure the local companies that they would curtail this registration fee up to less than Rs. 15,000 when they came to office again.

Meanwhile, he said that he preferred the participation of these entrepreneurs to the Joint Oppositions’ actual Anti-tribulation May Day rally, which would be held at Kirulapone.