Inland Revenue tops Rs.136b

Anjana Samarasinghe

COLOMBO: The Department of Inland Revenue has earned Rs. 136.5 billion during the first six months of this year.

Commissioner General of Department of Inland Revenue A.A Wijepala said last year they collected Rs 104 billion in the first six months.

The Department collected Rs 44,020 million as income tax during this period and this is a 42 per cent growth compared to the same period last year.

This is a Rs 7,500 million surplus of the target set for the income tax segment during these six months.

The Department has added more than 30,000 new income taxpayers to the tax net from January to June.

They have a target of 50,000 new taxpayers for this year. "We have opened 750 new income tax files for Government servants during this period," Wijepala said. He noted that VAT (Value Added Tax) collections have increased by 14 per cent. VAT has contributed Rs 97,000 million for the total revenue collected in the first six months.

There is also significant growth in other taxes such as stamp duties. "Normally revenue collection increases in the second half of the year but there is significant growth in the first half of this year. The Department is optimistic of achieving this year's target of Rs 315 billion through revenue collection," he added.

Explaining the reasons for the significant growth, Wijepala said that the Department has rectified their staff shortage and increased efficiency. Recent amendments to the laws also enable rapid revenue collection. During the past there were delays in amending laws, he said.

Commissioner VAT of the Department of Inland Revenue Mallika Samarasekara said they have provided Rs 5,151 million as VAT refunds during the first six months of this year. There were 3,550 applications for VAT refunds during this period.

"We are targeting Rs 9 billion to Rs 10 billion VAT refunds during this year. The Department settles VAT refunds within 45 days and refunds with a bank guarantee is settled within 15 days," she said.