Category: Industry
Expensive Joke
Mar. 29 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will introduce stamp duties from April on a range of services like credit cards, leasing and insurance policies, as the government looks for ways to raise revenue to pay for infrastructure and welfare spending plans. -Mel Gunasekera: mel@ Exemption list: Insurance policy on: Life, Medical Plant, machinery and equipment […]
Damage Control
Mar. 27 (LBO) – Sri Lanka may impose a cess of up to 10 percent on imports to plug a loss in tax revenues, when import tariffs are lowered in April under the Indo-Lanka free trade deal.“Cesses will be used in the future to mitigate the negative impact of the increased preference for imports from […]
Audit Protest
Mar.26 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government auditors are threatening industrial action against chronic inaction by authorities and the parliament to crackdown on corruption and other shortcomings highlighted by them.The angry tones follows a statement attributed to the treasury secretary, which appeared in a Sunday weekly, criticising the audit report for having brought disrepute the public […]
Joint Power
Mar. 23 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s cabinet of ministers had approved a deal for the state-owned Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) to team up with India’s National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in a joint venture coal plant, Power Minister John Seneviratne said Wednesday.The cabinet has approved the provisions of a draft Memorandum of Understanding, which will […]
Drama Tax
Mar 23 (LBO) – Sri Lanka passed controversial laws on Tuesday to tax imported movies, dramas, sitcoms and commercials, though tax rates and conditions have not yet been decided.The law makes way for a Teledrama, Film and Commercials levy on imports of all television stations as well as commercials made out of the country and […]
Open Sesame
Mar 23 (LBO) – Sri Lanka will have to further relax import tariffs on goods like cement from April this year under its trade deal with India, with customs revenues taking a hit.Sri Lanka’s bilateral trade agreements with both India and Pakistan allow for a phasing out of tariffs over a eight year period, for […]
Re-Shuffle
Mar. 22 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has changed the license fee structure for lubricant operators giving players an option of paying a flat fee or a percentage on turnover, Petroleum Minister M H M Fowzie said. -Mel Gunasekera: mel@ Sri Lanka doubled license fees for lubricant operators in January, fixing it at Rs10 million (US$100,000) […]
Growing Money
Mar 22 (LBO) – Lanka Transformers were given a first subsidy payment on Wednesday for generating electricity from trees, under a new scheme to encourage investment in renewable power. Wood or dendro power producers are being given Rs2.50 a unit, to top up current rates of Rs6.00 that the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) pays independent […]
‘s leisure industry recovers in February
Mar. 22 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit tourism industry continued to recover this year, with arrivals for the two months to February rising 40.2 percent to 104,918 visitors, the Tourist Board said Wednesday.The tropical island famed for its golden beaches, lush, tea-growing mountains and historic sites dating back 2,500 years, greeted 52,687 (up 43.8 percent) […]
Sri Lanka’s leisure industry recovers in February
Mar. 22 (LBO) — Sri Lanka’s tsunami-hit tourism industry continued to recover this year, with arrivals for the two months to February rising 40.2 percent to 104,918 visitors, the Tourist Board said Wednesday.The tropical island famed for its golden beaches, lush, tea-growing mountains and historic sites dating back 2,500 years, greeted 52,687 (up 43.8 percent) […]
Flagged Off
Mar 21 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Caltex Lanka Lubricants will ship five million litres of lubricant oils into Bangladesh, its first foray into the country and a possible launch pad into other regional markets, top officials said Tuesday. The local arm of US based Chevron Texaco, Caltex dominates the local lube market with about 80 […]
On Hold
Mar. 21 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom, the island’s dominant fixed-line operator, Tuesday said it would stop connecting new subscribers through Code Division Multiplex Access or CDMA technology with immediate effect, following legal advice. The move follows SLT’s decision late Monday to take seek legal redress on a directive issued by the telecom watchdog with […]