Bills presented to be taken up for debate

Sandasen Marasinghe and Disna Mudalige

The government presented 21 Bills in Parliament yesterday. Speaker Chamal Rajapaksa observed that the Attorney General had stated that these bills were not inconsistent with the constitution. 18 of the 21 bills presented by the Leader of the House and Irrigation and Water Resources Management Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva will be take up for debate on March 19, 20 and 21. At the Party Leader's meeting it had been decided to debate the Bills from 9.30 a.m to 4 p.m on these dates.

The Speaker stated that 3 of the 21 Bills have to be directed to the Provincial Councils as matters discussed in those Bills come under Provincial Councils. Those are the Marriage Registration (Amendment) Bill, Muslim Marriage and Divorce (Amendment) Bill and Kandyan Marriage and Divorce (Amendment) Bill.

The other 18 Bills are Fiscal Management (Responsibility) (Amendment) Bill, Economic Service Charge (Amendment) Bill, Excise (Amendment) Bill, Strategic Development Projects (Amendment) Bill, Ports and Airports Development Levy (Amendment) Bill, Telecommunication Levy (Amendment) Bill, Value Added Tax (Amendment) Bill, Customs (Amendment) Bill, Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Bill, Nation Building Tax (Amendment) Bill, Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill, Tax Appeals Commission (Amendment) Bill, Finance Bill, Births and Death Registration (Amendment) Bill, Notaries (Amendment) Bill, Registration of Documents (Amendment) Bill, Powers of Attorney (Amendment) Bill and Resettlement Authority (Amendment) Bill.