SLPA quotes in US dollars for information
The Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) is quoting in US dollars for information from it, contrary to the Right to Information law, prompting those seeking the information to convert and pay in rupees..
Currently, the Authority provides certified copies of documents up to four pages free of charge and thereafter, USD 2 is charged for every additional page with separate Value Added Tax. The rules of the Right to Information Commission ( RTIC) make no reference to quoting in US dollars for information.
The matter came to light when a journalist filed an RTI request seeking to access the Environmental Impact Assessment report of a port on the eastern coast. For the two additional pages, he was charged USD 4 (Rs 812) with VAT amounting to Rs 64.12. The payment was made in rupees equivalent to USD.
The Gazette Extraordinary No. 2004/66, dated February 3, 2017 introduced a specific fee schedule for providing photocopies and printouts. Accordingly, for photocopying, Rs 2 is charged per one side and Rs 4 for both sides while for printouts, the fees are fixed at Rs 4 and Rs 8 respectively.
Information Officer of SLPA Capt. Harsha Weerasuriya who heads the Special Investigation Unit told the Sunday Times that this has been the practice ever since the RTI Act came into effect as the Ports Authority secured special approval to impose USD payments rather than rupee payments.
He did not disclose from where the "special approval" was obtained and asked that a separate RTI application to find out that information..
"It is known that all the transactions within SLPA are conducted in USD currency," Capt Weerasuriya said.
Under Section 42 of the RTI Act, the Commission issued rules in 2017 giving directives relating to the fees payable on providing information. It is also only the Commission which can amend the fee schedule.
The journalist appealed against the USD payment to the Designated Officer of SLPA along with relevant documents and another information request has also been filed to access information relating to the ‘ special approval’ the Ports Authority has obtained to charge for information in US dollars.