Eran resuscitates Sri Lanka's Tax Appeals Commission

Around 1500 tax appeal cases are pending since 2011 – 300 since 2016 - owing to delays in constituting the Tax Appeals Commission, and as an immediate priority new State Minister of Finance Eran Wickramaratne is to get this commission fully functional with all nine members appointed last week, Finance Ministry officials said.

The Minister told the Business Times that he's trying to get this commission fully functional ( as quickly as possible). Treasury officials told the Business Times that the Government risks losing billions in revenue without the Tax Commission.

Under the Act any person aggrieved by the determination of the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue in relation to the imposition of any tax or levy can submit an appeal. Where a person is aggrieved by a determination of the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, such a person must notify the Tax Appeals Commission, within 30 days from the date of the said determination that he intends to prefer an appeal to the Commission. When such notification is given, the Commission must inform the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue and require him to transmit in writing his reasons for the determination.

The reasons for the determination by the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue must be transmitted to the Tax Appeals Commission, the aggrieved party and his authorised representative and after the appeal is lodged, 25 per cent of the sum assessed by the Inland Revenue should be placed in a special account or a bank guarantee provided.

Meanwhile the state minister said he is also trying to get other bills passed. Mr. Wickramaratne added that the Inland Revenue ( IR) Bill is to be presented to the Parliament soon. “The current exemptions on discretionary income have been taken away,” he said noting that there will be seven areas under concessionary tax rates in the IRD Bill. He said the new Bill is of the principle that all income after Rs. 1.2 million is progressively taxable.