Guide to doing business in Sri Lanka

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has released the revised edition of the publication titled “A Step by Step Guide to Doing Business in Sri Lanka”.

This publication contains the information regarding all major activities that have to be undertaken by an entrepreneur during different stages of business from opening and establishing a business to closure of its operations. The information is summarised under 28 topics pertaining to key activities, such as registering a business, obtaining BOI approval, registering a property, obtaining a preliminary planning clearance, obtaining electricity connection, paying EPF and ETF, issuing shares to the public, making exports and imports.

Further, information on topics of general interest such as opening a bank account, paying taxes, obtaining a passport, obtaining visas to enter and stay in Sri Lanka have also been included.

Under each topic, information on documentary requirements and regulatory clearances, agencies of relevance, cost, and contact details of their senior staff as well as the websites of the agencies are provided for the ease of the investors to obtain further clarification if required.

The information contained in the publication is expected to assist entrepreneurs to enhance the efficiency and timeliness of their decision making processes by minimising the search cost of extracting required information from different sources.