Category: Commodity
‘s inflation increased to 6.2-pct in December
Jan 22, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index increased to 6.2 percent in December 2019 from 4.1 percent in November 2019. According to the Central Bank, this was driven by monthly increase of prices of items in the Food category along with […]
Cabinet nod to amend Inland Revenue Act; to be presented to Parliament
Jan 21, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Cabinet of Ministers have approved the proposal to amend the Inland Revenue Act to reflect new tax proposals introduced by the government. The proposal has been made by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Finance Minister to fulfill a promise made by the government to […]
Trade deficit narrows marginally in Nov with imports, exports declining
Jan 17, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s trade deficit contracted marginally in November 2019 (year-on-year), with both imports and exports declining, the latest Central Bank data showed. The deficit in the trade account declined in November to US dollars 762 million, from US dollars 785 million in November 2018. The trade deficit contracted by US […]
‘s Central Bank to maintain inflation within 4 to 6-pct
Jan 06, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank expects to maintain inflation within a range of 4-6 percent through a transparent, coherent, and accountable monetary policy framework going forward. Announcing the road map of the Central Bank for this year, Governor W D Lakshman highlighted that maintaining inflation at stable levels would help improve […]
Sri Lanka bans Ethanol importation for liquor production
Jan 01, 2020 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Finance and Planning has decided to suspend the importation of Ethanol from other countries. The Finance Ministry said the import of Ethanol for liquor production will be suspended from today (1st January) on the directives of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa as the Minister of Finance. This […]
Sri Lanka nationwide inflation decreased in November
Dec 24, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s headline inflation as measured by the year-on-year change in the National Consumer Price Index decreased to 4.1 percent in November from 5.6 percent in October contributed by the statistical effect of the high base prevailed in October 2018. According to the Statistics Department, Year-on-year food inflation has decreased […]
Central Bank to introduce new law regulating moneylenders
Dec 06, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank with the Ministry of Finance is currently in the process of drafting a new law for licensing, regulation and supervision of moneylenders and protection of customers. The Central Bank said in a statement that the said law is currently in the drafting process and is expected […]
‘s new tax regime
Dec 02, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry says that the recent tax reforms constitute a much-needed transformation in the country’s tax system to address the numerous problems stemming from its extreme complexity with the multiplicity of taxes. The Finance Ministry said that these policy measures will be implemented within a coherent policy framework, […]
Fiscal stimulus should be structured not to overheat economy: CB Governor
Nov 29, 2019 (LBO) – The government is to make a policy statement as to how the recently introduced fiscal stimulus would be accommodated within a stable framework, Central Bank Governor Indrajit Coomaraswamy said. “The government will be making a statement as to how this would be accommodated within a stable framework,” Governor Coomaraswamy told […]
Recent tax cuts support short term but greater fiscal clarity needed for medium term: CBSL
Nov 29, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Central Bank observes that the recent tax revisions would support lower inflation and higher economic growth in the short term, but was of the view that greater clarity with regard to the medium-term fiscal path of the government is required to assess the impact on the economy over […]
Sri Lanka announces tax reliefs; cuts VAT to 8-pct, removes PAYE, WHT & Capital Gains Tax
Nov 27, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s new Cabinet of Ministers has given its approval to reduce Value Added Tax (VAT) and various other taxes, Co-Cabinet Spokesperson Minister Bandula Gunawardana said. “Required amendments and gazette notifications are currently being prepared,” Gunawardana told reporters. “This will be a stimulus to all areas of the economy and […]
Sri Lanka inflation at 5-pct in Sept 2019
Oct 22, 2019 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s National Consumer Price Index (NCPI) increased to 5 percent from 3.4 percent recorded in August on a year-on-year basis, the Department of Census and Statistics said. The NCPI for all items for the month of September 2019 was 130.6. An increase of 0.9 index points or 0.7 percentage […]