Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Bill
– The proposal made by the Minister of Finance to publish the draft (Amendment) Bill for the amendment of the Betting and Gaming Levy Act, No.40 of 1988 prepared by the Legal Draftsman in the Government Gazette for increasing the Annual Levy from Rs.200 million to Rs.400 million, for carrying on the business of gaming other than playing Rudjino, for fixing an Annual Levy of Rs.1 million for carrying on the business of playing Rudjino, for charging an Entrance Levy only from Sri Lankan citizens for entering to a Casino and for increasing the gross collection from 10% to 15%, in accordance with the Budget 2019 and the Cabinet decision dated 2019‑08‑27 and to present the said draft Bill in Parliament for approval, was approved by the Cabinet.
Regulation made under section 7 of the Foreign Exchange Act, No.12 of 2017
– The Regulation No.1 of 2017 dated 17th November 2017 has been made under section 7 of the Foreign Exchange Act, No.12 of 2017 with the approval of the Cabinet to provide authority to specify the classes of capital transactions in foreign exchange for permitted investments, their limits and other connected conditions. According to the said Regulation, although it is required for the exporters to bring in the proceeds on merchandise exports to Sri Lanka within 120 days from the date of exportation, enabling the foreign buyers to be attracted on the request of the exporters and considering the concurrence of the Monetary Board of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, the proposal made by the Minister of Finance to amend the Regulation No.1 of 2017 issued in accordance with section 7 of the Foreign Exchange Act, No.12 of 2017, to extend the 120 day time frame up to 180 days and to present same in Parliament for approval under section 29 of the said Act, was approved by the Cabinet.
Amendment to the Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act, No.12 of 2006 and the Provincial Councils (Transfer of Stamp Duty) Act, No.13 of 2011
– In terms of section 7 of the Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act, No.12 of 2006 as amended by the Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act, No.10 of 2008, the stamp duty collected by persons authorized to compound such duty, is remitted to the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue and there are instances where requests are made to the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue for refund, from the persons who have made such stamp duty payment in excess or erroneously of the required amount. Although the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue is satisfied that such claims are genuine and legitimate, no refunds could be made since there is no legal provision available in the Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act, No.12 of 2006 or the Provincial Councils (Transfer of Stamp Duty) Act, No.13 of 2011 therein, for such refunds. As such, the proposal made by the Minister of Finance to instruct the Legal Draftsman to draft the Stamp Duty (Special Provisions) Act, No.12 of 2006 and the Provincial Councils (Transfer of Stamp Duty) Act, No.13 of 2011 incorporating provisions to enable such refunds to be made, was approved by the Cabinet.
Amendment to the Tax Appeals Commission Act
– It has been identified that it is appropriate to increase the number of panels to hear the appeals, as at present, there are 495 cases to the value of Rs.63 billion pending before the Tax Appeals Commission which has been established under the Tax Appeals Commission Act, No.23 of 2011. However, due to the reasons such as, the inability of increasing the number of panels without increasing the number of Members of the Commission and the difficulty in obtaining the services of the retired Judges of the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal, have been found as obstacles in this regard. Accordingly, the proposal made by the Minister of Finance, to instruct the Legal Draftsman to amend the Tax Appeals Commission Act, incorporating provision to increase the number of Members to be appointed to the Tax Appeals Commission from (9) to (12), to increase the Panels to be appointed from (03) to (04) and to make provision for four Members out of the twelve to be appointed from the retired Judges of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal or the High Court of Sri Lanka or to appoint the retired senior officers of the Attorney General’s Department who have held the position of the Deputy Solicitor General or above and also to amend the Inland Revenue Act, No.24 of 2017 incorporating provision to make or hear appeals against assessments issued under the said Act, since legal provisions are not provided therein in this regard, was approved by the Cabinet.
