Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne on Wednesday (17) endorsed the certificate on the Bills titled Social Security Contribution Levy (Amendment), the Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment), and the Strategic Development Projects (Amendment).

According to a Parliament statement, the primary purpose of the Social Security Contribution Levy (Amendment) Bill was to amend the Social Security Contribution Levy Act, No. 25 of 2022. The Bill was presented to Parliament on October 09, and the Bill was passed in Parliament on December 05.

The Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Bill, duly passed on December 05, aimed to amend Section 2 of the principal enactment. Accordingly, amendments to the Bill aimed to limit the gross collection of ten per centum to have been applicable only for the time period from April 1, 2023, to October 1, 2025, increase the gross collection levy from persons carrying on a business of bookmaker or business of gambling to eighteen per centum from October 1, 2025, and increase the casino entrance levy from persons who are citizens of Sri Lanka to United States Dollars one hundred.

The Strategic Development Projects (Amendment) Bill, presented to Parliament on November 14, was passed in Parliament on December 05 for the purpose of amending the Strategic Development Projects Act, No. 14 of 2008. Accordingly, said amendments included reducing the maximum tax holiday period from twenty-five years to ten years and mandating a new process for project identification, the Board of Investment (BOI) identifying a project and referring it to the Ministry of Finance for a mandatory ex-ante cost-benefit analysis before any tax holiday or concession was granted, establishing new requirements for ex-post monitoring by the BOI, including the authority to impose administrative penalties or restrict or revoke exemptions for non-compliance with key performance indicators, requiring tax returns to be filed, and mandating the Ministry of Finance to publish an annual report on tax expenditures related to these projects.

Accordingly, the said three Bills will come into force as the Social Security Contribution Levy (Amendment) Act, No. 24 of 2025, the Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Act, No. 25 of 2025, and the Strategic Development Projects (Amendment) Act, No. 26 of 2025. (Newswire)

The post Speaker endorses 03 Bills, includes Betting & Gaming Levy Amendment appeared first on Newswire.

The General Manager of the Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB), Shirley Kumara, stated that electricity supply to households in disaster‑affected areas will not be disconnected.

He emphasized that the CEB will not carry out disconnections in these areas due to unpaid bills, and that the relevant charges will instead be added to future billing cycles. At this stage, no form of electricity disconnection will take place.

Kumara further explained that in many affected areas, meter readings cannot be taken and bills cannot be distributed. Therefore, the relevant bills will be issued to consumers in the coming months, while ensuring an uninterrupted electricity supply during this period.

He also noted that the adverse weather and resulting disaster situation have caused significant losses to the CEB, which are currently being calculated. (Newswire)

The post Not paying bills : No disconnections in flood-hit areas, says CEB appeared first on Newswire.

Three key bills aimed at recovering stolen assets, deterring financial crimes, and protecting creditors and debtors will be presented to Parliament next year, Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara said.

The Justice Minister said that the Proceeds of Crime Bill, Rescue, Rehabilitation & Insolvency Bill and Audit Act amendments will be presented to Parliament. 

Addressing the Parliament today, he further said that the Bills are expected to be presented to Parliament early next quarter. 

Explaining further, Minister Harshana Nanayakkara noted that these legislations are aimed at effectively deterring money laundering and drug trafficking.

He added that the Amendments to the Audit Act will improve creditor confidence and protect debtors’ rights. (Newswire)

The post Three key Bills to tackle financial crimes set for 2024 appeared first on Newswire.

A total of 167 bills have been passed during the tenure of the Ninth Parliament of Sri Lanka. 

The former Parliament functioned from August 20, 2020, and was dissolved at midnight on September 24, 2024.

According to a Parliament statement, some of the special Acts passed during this period are as follows;

• Regulation of Election Expenditure Act No. 3 of 2023,
• Parliamentary Budget Office Act No. 6 of 2023
• Anti-Corruption Act No. 9 of 2023
• Central Bank of Sri Lanka Act No. 16 of 2023
• Elections (Special Provisions) Act No. 21 of 2023
• Anti-Corruption (Amendment) Act No. 28 of 2023
• Online Security Act No. 9 of 2024
• Sri Lanka Electricity Act No. 36 of 2024
• Women Empowerment Act No. 37 of 2024
• Public Financial Management Act No. 44 of 2024
• The Economic Transformation Act No. 45

A breakdown of the number of passed Bills is as follows;

The post 167 Bills passed under 9th Parliament of Sri Lanka appeared first on Newswire.

Three Bills have been passed following the Second Reading debate in Parliament today.

According to a Parliament statement, the Reciprocal Recognition, Registration and Enforcement of Foreign Judgements Bill and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill were passed with amendments.

Meanwhile, the National Minimum Wage of Workers (Amendment) Bill was passed without amendments.

The Second Reading debate related to these three Bills was held today from 10.30 am to 4.40 pm, after which the three Bills were passed in Parliament. (Newswire)

The post Three Bills passed in Parliament appeared first on Newswire.