Taxpayers Must Apply Before December 2 for Tax Amnesty, Interest Waivers, IRD Commissioner Says
Taxpayers must apply before December 2 to receive concessions under the tax amnesty and interest waivers, Inland Revenue Department Commissioner P. Nandana Kumar has said.
Speaking at a panel discussion on the National Budget 2027 organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants (CA) of Sri Lanka yesterday (13), he said applicants can also obtain penalty waivers and interest benefits, and that any dispute can be referred to the Commissioner General for a decision.
Kumar said tax administration has moved beyond its “2.0” stage of online services and is now entering “3.0”, which includes pre-filled returns, simpler filing, digitisation and fewer repetitions. With little room to change tax policy, he noted, revenue can be raised only by broadening the tax base. A Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) became mandatory on January 1, 2024, after which the department created taxpayer profiles and began integrating with other agencies. He described this as challenging, since some statutes have separate laws that must be amended and technology does not always support integration.
Finance Ministry Tax Policy Advisor Thanuja Perera explained the Budget’s increase in the monthly tax-free threshold from Rs. 150,000 to Rs. 162,500, or Rs. 1.95 million a year. She said concessions can be loaded towards the bottom, which raises the tax-free allowance but narrows the tax base, or given to higher brackets by widening the upper slabs. The ministry ran simulations of different scenarios, she said, adding that every design involves a trade-off between efficiency and equity.
Perera said loading the concession at the bottom protects progressivity, though part of the tax base will fall outside the system. The lowest saving is Rs. 750 a month for those earning up to Rs. 200,000, while higher earners save more. The forgone revenue is around Rs. 16 billion, within the medium-term fiscal framework. She added that proposed revisions on foreign-source income and withholding tax aim to clarify the law.
The post Taxpayers Must Apply Before December 2 for Tax Amnesty, Interest Waivers, IRD Commissioner Says appeared first on LNW Lanka News Web.
