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Excise Department: Rs. 2.3 b outstanding in taxes

11 Dec 2020

  • Details uncovered at parliamentary COPA
  • Only 20% of total outstanding is tax: Excise Dept.
By Maheesha Mudugamuwa Parliament’s Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) uncovered that the Excise Department has an outstanding Rs. 2.3 billion in tax revenue that is pending collection over the past five years, The Morning learnt. COPA has uncovered that Rs. 2,376.2 million in outstanding revenue is yet to be collected by the Excise Department as at December 2019.  The total amount of tax arrears due to the Excise Department over more than five years is Rs. 479.9 million as at 31 December 2019, whilst delay charges alone amounted to Rs. 1,896.3 million, the Parliament's Office stated. Meanwhile, COPA Chairman Professor Tissa Vitharana has instructed the department to take immediate action to recover the amounts owed, whilst excise officials said legal measures are being taken to recover the funds. When contacted by The Morning, Deputy Commissioner of Excise Kapila Kumarasinghe said that 20% of the total amount is the tax component payable by the companies that defaulted, and the rest is the accumulated penalty charge on the same.  So far, legal action has been taken against two companies, he added. According to law, excise tax should be paid within 15 days. Meanwhile, in the case of a default, a penalty charge of 3% is added, which is how the total outstanding amount had accumulated over the years, he explained. Furthermore, the Deputy Commissioner stressed that every year, the department provides a total of around Rs. 120 billion to the Treasury, stating that therefore, compared to the overall income of the department, the dues pending collection were less.  


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