Sri Lankan taxpayers owe over Rs. 550 billion in tax arrears to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD).
Officials of the Inland Revenue Department disclosed this during a special media briefing held to explain the latest tax amendments.
Officials noted that legal action is already underway to recover nearly Rs. 100 billion of these tax arrears.
In addition, they stated that the department utilises several other methods to recover these arrears.
Those measures include freezing bank accounts, attaching assets, and facilitating the settlement of the relevant arrears through discussions with defaulting taxpayers.
It was clarified that since relevant provisions are provided under the Inland Revenue Act, the Inland Revenue Department possesses the legal authority to freeze bank accounts without a court order.
Meanwhile, Commissioner General of Inland Revenue Rukdevi Fernando stated that a tax revenue target of Rs. 2,401 billion is assigned to the department for the year 2026.
Around 1.3 million individual taxpayers currently exist in Sri Lanka, whilst approximately 130,000 companies are registered as taxpayers.
Officials of the Inland Revenue Department disclosed this during a special media briefing held to explain the latest tax amendments.
Officials noted that legal action is already underway to recover nearly Rs. 100 billion of these tax arrears.
In addition, they stated that the department utilises several other methods to recover these arrears.
Those measures include freezing bank accounts, attaching assets, and facilitating the settlement of the relevant arrears through discussions with defaulting taxpayers.
It was clarified that since relevant provisions are provided under the Inland Revenue Act, the Inland Revenue Department possesses the legal authority to freeze bank accounts without a court order.
Meanwhile, Commissioner General of Inland Revenue Rukdevi Fernando stated that a tax revenue target of Rs. 2,401 billion is assigned to the department for the year 2026.
Around 1.3 million individual taxpayers currently exist in Sri Lanka, whilst approximately 130,000 companies are registered as taxpayers.
