It was revealed at the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) held in Parliament recently that the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) had received 6,878 dishonored
checks worth Rs. 240 million (Rs. 2,451,465,383), as at 31 December 2020.
The Committee directed the Inland Revenue Department officials to take immediate action to recover this due. It was also revealed at the meeting that Court cases have been filed by Inland Revenue Department in the Colombo Magistrate’s Court to recover Rs. 2670 million in tax arrears from the casino business.
Meanwhile, COPA revealed that according to Section 12 of the Default Taxes (Special Provisions) Act No. 16 of 2010, the amount of tax arrears that could be collected as on 31st December 2020 is around Rs. 144,537,364,916. (1445 millions) The COPA meeting chaired by Prof. Tissa Vitarana was attented by State Ministers Dayasiri Jayasekara, Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Dr. Sudarshani Fernandopulle, MPs Tissa Attanayake, S. Shreedaran, Karder Masthan, Mohamed Muzammil, Niroshan Perera, Dr. Upul Galappaththi, Weerasumana Weerasighe , Dr Harini Amarasuriya.
