Category: General Services

July 14, 2006 (LBO) – The local cinema industry is trying to get a 15 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on theatre tickets lifted from August, top officials said Friday. The government has agreed in principle to exempt theatre tickets from VAT, from August 1, and we have to now prepare a Cabinet memorandum to […]

July 13, 2006 (LBO) – A new Sri Lankan satellite channel took wing Thursday, with plans to tap into a captive market of customers who lost out to the recent shut down of local cable operators. The first test transmission is to take place before the end of July, after which it will be rolled […]

July 11 (LBO) – A tariff cut of up to 70 percent on goods like cement imported under the Indo-Lanka free trade deal, has been pushed back to September due to procedural delays. This will come into effect by September this year, that is our expectation and we are trying to speed it up, N […]

July 11 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s Editors Guild will honour print journalists Tuesday evening at its annual awards ceremony for journalistic excellence in 2005. Krishni Ifham Virakesari D B Dhanapala Best Journalist of the Year Tamil Sonali Samarasingha The Sunday Leader Mervyn de Silva Journalist of the Year Special Awards for the best students of […]

July 6, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has slapped a controversial tax on foreign commercials, Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters, dramas and sitcoms from July 1, with funds collected ploughed back to develop the local film industry. The taxes range from 90,000 rupees for a 30 minute dubbed episode to a million rupees for each foreign […]

July 6, 2006 (LBO) – India’s Commerce Minister has raised the red flag on Sri Lankan shipments of vanaspati, pepper and marble, as they are threatening to destabilise the giant neighbour’s domestic industry, the Indian embassy said in a statement Thursday. The statement comes as both nations last week concluded trade talks on forming a […]

The government has finalised tax rates for imported movies, dramas, sitcoms and commercials, with a formal announcement expected on Thursday. Rates are likely to be 75, 000 rupees (750 dollars) for a 30 minute block that is not dubbed, going up to 90,000 rupees (900 dollars) for a dubbed half hour block. The Teledrama, Film […]

June 30, 2006 (AFP) – Sri Lanka’s government Friday said it will offer duty free cars and motorcycles to accredited journalists in a bid to ensure the “freedom” of the media.Plan Implementation Ministry Secretary Nivard Cabraal said a scheme to offer tax free cars, motorcycles and computers to journalists would be implemented before the end […]

June 28, 2006 (LBO) – India has asked Sri Lankan vanaspati manufacturers to begin exports of the vegetable oil under new controls, amidst trade talks between the countries in Colombo. The move is one that violates the spirit of the free trade agreement between the countries, Sri Lanka™s Department of Commerce says and will take […]

June 28, 2006 (LBO) – HDFC Bank, the island’s largest housing bank, plans to expand its core business with moves to get into property development, an equity research firm said Wednesday. Executed through a fully-owned subsidiary HDFC Real Estate Development Ltd the state-run housing bank hopes to pay for the mammoth projects by leveraging its […]

June 28 (LBO) – Sri Lanka™s Board of Investment has re-done its tax incentive scheme with an emphasis on off-shore investments and large scale infrastructure projects. The traditional five year tax holiday will be replaced with a more rationalised scheme to raise the quality of investments, BOI chief Lakshman Watawala told businessmen on Wednesday. The […]

June 27, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Asha Central Hospital has bought land in Colombo to build a new 200-bed hospital, its Managing Director said Tuesday. The attractive fiscal incentives offered by the government to attract foreign and local investment to the health care industry have also helped spur growth. The 180-perches block of land, […]