Recent tax trends
N.R. Gajendran, Founder and Senior Partner, Gajma and Co, speaks at the monthly meeting of the Sunday Times Business Club on Thursday. The topic was “Recent developments in taxation”. The event was hosted by Movenpick Hotel, Colombo. Inset: audience. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara
SEC nets big sharks; more prosecutions soon
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has filed action in the past month against big market offenders for offences committed more than 10 years ago and more prosecutions are expected, sources close to the capital market regulator said. The most prominent is Nimal Perera, formerly at the Vallibel Group of companies and now an independent [...]
SL Customs streamlines cargo clearance procedure
Sri Lanka Customs (SLC) collects over 50 per cent of state tax revenue mainly from international trade although trade inflows plunged during the country’s lockdown during COVID-19 and the current economic crisis, new Director General Customs P.B.S.C. Nonis said. On a daily average, Customs used to clear over 1000 full container loads (FCLs) at import [...]
Ceylon Tea hits stagnant lows
The tea industry is reeling from the after effects of a lack of fertiliser and glyphosate and an unsustainable wage model resulting in a stagnant position today, and this is causing a shift of exporter operations to other more viable markets over a period of time. On the one hand tea producers believe the industry [...]
Banking sector hit hard by liquidity crunch
Banks are facing an acute liquidity crunch exacerbated by the larger macroeconomic crisis in the country. Senior bankers say this is a primary reason why banks are not lending. “They are being risk averse,” a banker said noting that banks are in a dilemma as to what is happening to the domestic debt market after [...]
New direct taxes soon targeting rich
Sri Lanka’s cash-strapped government has announced a taxation overhaul to boost revenue amid the country’s crippling economic crisis, hiking value added taxes and corporate income tax, and slashing the relief given to individual taxpayers. The Government is now striving to introduce more direct taxes on par with international practices with the aim of increasing tax [...]
Crunch time for SMEs
Earlier this week a rental car driver related a tale of woe on how he had a small tourism business but had to close it and now works as a cab driver. “I was doing very well and on one occasion secured an income of Rs.100,000 for one round trip – driving tourists around the [...]
“Daylight robberies”
I still remember something profound that I learnt during my childhood: “The world is ruled by shame and fear”. Certain things we learnt during our childhood days went deep down in the heart and remained there throughout the lifetime. This wise statement, wherever I learnt it, was the same; it remained to-date at the bottom [...]
FitsAir takes off from Colombo, Jaffna
Low-cost carrier FitsAir, the newest passenger carrier to join the Lankan skies, will take off this month at competitive rates flying off to Dubai, Trichy and Male. The commercial operations are set to commence from October 5, on its three A320- 200 aircraft that will have a seating capacity of 154 economy and 8 economy [...]
Govt’s agriculture revival to improve productivity
Sri Lanka has embarked on an ambitious agriculture revival initiative waking up to reality after failed organic farming policies, Agriculture Ministry sources said. The implementation of this initiative has been expedited following the pledge given by visiting US Permanent Representative to the UN Food and Agriculture Agencies in Rome, Ambassador Cindy McCain to support the [...]
TUs raise the red flag
Sri Lanka trade unions through its global representative IndustriALL Global Union has this week asked President Ranil Wickremesinghe to protect the rights of trade unions as the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC) has not been convened in recent months and their offices broken into. It was pointed out in the letter that the Minister has [...]
Ceylon Tea’s fame needs to be regained
Sri Lanka’s tea industry is currently under threat and Ceylon Tea’s fame globally needs to be regained, Sri Lanka Tea Board Chairman Niraj De Mel said recently at the 168th Planters Association AGM held at the Galadari in Colombo. The Sri Lankan tea industry is severely under threat and though ‘we’ belittled the capability of [...]
Buried underpants and tea bags help scientists evaluate soil
ZURICH – Bury underpants and tea bags in your garden? Why not, thought scientist Marcel van der Heijden of the University of Zurich. It may sound odd, but Swiss citizens are burying cotton underwear and tea bags in their gardens, yards and fields to help researchers evaluate the quality of soil in the Alpine nation. [...]
Govt. officials should support RE sector
As with all sectors in the country, Renewable Energy (RE) is also facing an acute crisis without being paid for its product for the past 10 months and related policies being decided by those who are ignorant of the sector situation. The power and energy crises are looming large, but the authorities and officials related [...]
Indian travel agents confident of demand rebound for Sri Lanka
Indian travel agents are expecting a spike in demand for Sri Lanka in the coming months, especially as collaborative destination marketing efforts get underway with Sri Lankan tourism players. Daniel D’Souza, president and country head – holidays, SOTC Travel said: “The island nation is a favourite with Indian consumers owing to its easy access and [...]
AV Productions marks 30th anniversary
AV Productions, a leading event management company in Sri Lanka, recently celebrated 30 years of delivering world-class events for various corporates and blue-chip companies across the country. In commemorating this milestone, AV Productions is presenting its ‘NextGen’ strategy, a tactical and calculated course of action to facilitate more innovative and trailblazing events in Sri Lanka, [...]
HSBC supports 5 SL designers
Launched at HSBC Colombo Fashion Week 2022, CFW Accelerate is a programme that builds on many of CFWs other initiatives that help to create new pathways to success for promising young designers who aim to keep sustainability at the core of their designs. At Colombo fashion week 2022, CFW Accelerate identified the best five high-potential [...]
Lakwin Air, SL’s newest passenger and cargo domestic airline
Lakwin Aviation (Pvt) Ltd has been certified by the Civil Aviation Authority of Sri Lanka (CAASL) to provide domestic commercial civil passenger and cargo transport services after fulfilling the necessary requirements. The Air Operator Certificate (AOC) was handed over by P. A. Jayakantha, Director General of Civil Aviation and Chief Executive Officer (CAASL) to CEO [...]
Private sector promotes 99% of tourism
While Sri Lanka is gearing to bounce back from the hard hit tourism industry with fresh promotional campaigns, it is the private sector that is on full throttle to uplift the dying industry, Tissa Jayaweera, a senior advisor to the Chamber of Tourism told the Business Times in an interview. He said, “It is the [...]
Lanka Rating Agency on SDF
Lanka Rating Agency has provided Sarvodaya Development Finance PLC (SDF) with an Initial Entity Rating. The rating reflects the stable growth SDF has experienced in the past five years and its unique accessibility to the rural sector through the Sarvodaya Movement, the company said in a media release. The brand name and the legacy of [...]
ICCSSL, CSE jointly conduct Company Secretaries’ programme
The Institute of Chartered Corporate Secretaries of Sri Lanka (ICCSSL) has partnered with the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) to promote the Company Secretaries’ Programme, designed as a joint effort by both parties to achieve the objective of efficient functioning of Company Secretaries of listed entities, to ensure compliance with regulations and governance frameworks pertaining to [...]