The much awaited new Inland Revenue Bill is to be presented in parliament by the end of this month paving the way for the release of the third tranche of US$168 million by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Sri Lanka, Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy told a media conference in Colombo on Friday. [...]

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Sri Lanka to get IMF third tranche of EFF next month

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The much awaited new Inland Revenue Bill is to be presented in parliament by the end of this month paving the way for the release of the third tranche of US$168 million by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Sri Lanka, Central Bank Governor Dr. Indrajit Coomaraswamy told a media conference in Colombo on Friday.

The Government has gazetted the bill on Monday June 19, so that it should be presented in parliament within 10 days of the issuing of the gazette, he said.

The IMF Executive Board in Washington DC has urged the Sri Lankan government to table the new Inland Revenue Bill to consider Sri Lanka’s request to complete the second loan review, which will ensure the continuation of the 3-year extended fund facility (EFF) programme which began in June 2016.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved the bill presented by former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake early last month.

“Legal experts of the IMF were analysing the contents of the new draft bill on the Inland Revenue Act approved by the cabinet and they are in discussions with the authorities before deciding on the completion of the second loan review in June”, IMF sources said.

But Dr. Coomaraswamy told journalists at the Central Bank’s monthly monetary policy review media briefing, that the IMF Executive Board will endorse the Second Review of Sri Lanka’s Extended Fund Facility as they are now obliged as prior action of submitting the tax bill in parliament.

The new bill will take its due course in parliament and the IMF has no objections against that procedure, he added.

In March the IMF staff team highlighted several shortcomings in the country’s monetary, fiscal and external sectors and urged some decisive actions by the authorities to accelerate the reforms agreed on a number of State-Owned Enterprises (SoEs), which have become a burden on public finances.

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