LIVE UPDATES: 2019 Budget Speech

4.22 p.m. - Import tax on petrol vehicles below 800cc capacity increased by Rs 150,000 and vehicles below 1,000cc by Rs 175,000.

Import tax on petrol vehicles below 1300cc capacity to be increased by Rs 500,000.

4.20 p.m. - Revision of economic service charge (ESC) on selected imported goods.

4.17 p.m. - Revision of unit rate based custom import duty on selected goods including fruit drink, liqour and tobacco effective from 6th of March 2019.

4.15 p.m. - Increase of toll on expressways by Rs.100 during peak hours effective from 1st April 2019.

4.14 p.m. - Revision of the price of special number plates for motor vehicles, issued by the Department of Motor Traffic, effective from 1st June 2019.

4.13 p.m. - Tax on casinos will be increased from Rs 200 million to Rs 400 million. A casino entrance fee of USD 50 per person, will be charged, effective from 1st June 2019.

Increase of license fee of casinos from Rs. 200 mn to Rs. 400 mn per annum and rudjino games to Rs. 1,000,000 per annum.

The casino turnover levy will be charged at 15%. These new charges will be effective from 1st April 2019.

4.12 p.m. - Excise duty on locally manufacture alcohol will be revised form midnight today.

Revision of Excise duty on liquor manufactured locally will be based on indexation, effective from 6th March 2019.

Increase of Excise duty on hard liquor manufactured locally by 08% (Excise duty on Special Arrack remains without change) and malt liquor by 12% will be done based on indexation effective from March 06, 2019.

4.09 p.m. - The tax on cigarettes will be revised from midnight today. All 60mm cigarettes will be subject to a 12% Nation Building Tax (NBT) from June 01.

Accordingly the price of a cigarette will increase by Rs 5 from midnight today.

4.06 p.m. - Introduction of 3.5% of Nation Building Tax in place of existing Stamp duty, on all foreign payments made by using any Credit Cards and Debit Cards.

This will be made effective from 1st June 2019. This proposal will also help address taxation of off-shore digital services.

4.04 p.m. - Finance Minister invites diaspora and others to donate t the “Palmyra Fund” to develop the war torn areas in the country.

4.00 p.m - Rs 1.5 billion to be allocated to purchase 250 new buses for the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB)

4.00 p.m. - Royalty payments for artists to be implemented enabling artist to receive royalties for their creations which are aired on television and radio.

3.56 p.m. - Rs 50 million to be allocated for the growing of mangroves in an attempt to mitigate climate change effects.

3.54 p.m. - Rs 1,000 million for the beautification of the city of Colombo which is being carried out by the Colombo Municipal Council.

3.48 p.m. - The Rate of Housing Rent Allowancepaid in the month of January 2019 will be increased by 100% with effect from July 01, 2019.

3.46 p.m. - Commandos Allowance to be increased to Rs 5,000 from the current Rs 1,000 per month from July 01. This will include members of the Sri Lanka Navy and Sri Lanka Air Force.

3.42 p.m. - Another Rs 2,500 allowance to given to state sector employees from July 01 this year.

3.38 p.m. - Rs 5,000 million allocated for the Light Rail Project from Colombo Fort to Malabe which will commence work in 2019.

3.34 p.m. - Rs 32 billion to be allocated for development of school infrastructure and Rs 25 billion for development of university infrastructure.

3.32 p.m. - From January 01, 2020 approval will be granted for buildings only if they have been made accessible for disabled persons. All government buildings must be able to accommodate disabled persons by 2020.

3.23 p.m. - Rs 100 million to be allocated for the sterilization of stray dogs in the country.

3.22 p.m. - Rs 600 million to uplift Suva Seriya free ambulance service in the country.

3.16 p.m. - Revenue Intelligence Unit to be set up under the Ministry of Finance.

3.15 p.m. - From April 01, 2020 onwards hotels in the country can sign for online bookings only if they are registered with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).

3.13 p.m. - Finance Ministry to introduce a Scholarship for Educational Excellence SEE Fund) in order to provide the students with the best G.C.E. Advanced Level examination results in the country an opportunity to study at a top foreign university. Discussions already ongoing with universities such as Harvard, Oxford and MIT.

One condition is that after completing studies they have to work in Sri Lanka for at least 10 years after which they can work in any country.  

3.06 p.m. - No foreign construction company will be allowed to bid for government contracts without forming a joint venture with a local company or unless there are fully funded by foreign countries.

3.02 p.m. - Customs import duty and Cess on imported go-karts and go-kart tyres to be removed.

3.01 p.m. - Rs 250 million to be allocated for National Export Strategy.

3.00 p.m. - ‘Sihin Maliga’ loan scheme for expatriates to commence from next month.

2.29 p.m. - A housing loan scheme named “Home Sweet Home” will be introduced for newly-wedded couples with 6% interest rate and a 25-year repayment period with a 2-year grace period.

2.51 p.m. - Rs 50 million allocated for a pilot project to build a arts and crafts village for female convicts.

2.50 p.m. - The Minister said that drug addicts who go into jail come out as drug peddlers. Therefore we propose a pilot project together with Prisons Department to specially employ imprisoned drug addicts while it will be launched in Ambepussa and Weerawila.

2.45 p.m. - Monthly allowance for differently abled persons to be increased from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000. Rs 4,320 million allocated for this purpose.

2.43 p.m. - Minister announces a sequence of steps to be taken in order to increase the number of women in the country’s work force. He said labour laws will be amended to achieve this.

2.41 p.m. - Public toilets and sanitary facilities in the country will be developed to accommodate the differently abled and Rs 400 million allcoated for this. The private sector will be invited to maintain and manage them.

2.34 p.m. - Rs 1.3 billion to be allocated for the construction of new fisheries harbours in Point Pedro and Pesalai.

2.29 p.m. - Rs 800 million allocated for growing new rubber trees increasing rubber tapping due to the shortage of natural rubber.

2.25 p.m. - Allocation to develop religious places of worship increased from Rs 500,000 to Rs 1 million.

2.24 p.m. - Rs.2,410 million has been allocated to complete the canals & head works of 7 major projects in 2019, Deduru Oya Project, the Menik Ganga Reservoir Project and the Morana Reservoir Project, which will directly benefit almost 21,000 families engaging in Agriculture.

2.23 p.m. - A new toll free hotline (1925) will be introduced to obtain information regarding the “Enterprise Sri Lanka” interest loan scheme.

2.23 p.m. - Over 30,000 entrepreneurs in Sri Lanka have benefitted from Enterprise Sri Lanka while funds amounting to around Rs 60 billion have already been released for this loan scheme.

2.22 p.m. - “Enterprise Sri Lanka” scheme will be broadened and spread further while programmes will be implemented across the island to educate the masses, he said.

2.21 p.m. - Rs 48,000 million to strengthen ‘Gam Peraliya’ programme.  

2.20 p.m. - Mangala said that ‘Gam Peraliya’ development programme was the ‘first victim’ the temporary government during the political crisis and that the first Cabinet paper of the current government was to bring it back.

2.17 p.m. - The Budget this year is being introduced under the themed “Enterprise Sri Lanka - Empowering the People, Nurturing the Poor”.

2.16 p.m. - Minister says that anti-dumping regulations will be implemented.

2.10 p.m. - The government believes in growth led by private enterprise, the genuine entrepreneur who uses his ingenuity, the finance minister said.

2.09 p.m. - What we inherited 2015 from the previous government was like a “ticking time bomb,” Minister Mangala Samaraweera says referring to the economy.

2.07 p.m. - Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera begins delivering the budget speech.

The Minister of Finance Managala Samaraweera presented the Budget proposal for the Year 2019 to the Parliament today (5).

The proceedings are scheduled to commence at 2.00 p.m. when the ‘Budget Proposals’ are announced with the reading of the Budget Speech at the second reading of the Appropriation Bill.

The Finance Ministry says that the Budget 2019 will be themed “Enterprise Sri Lanka - Empowering the People, Nurturing the Poor”.

The ministry said it plans to increase public revenue to 17 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with a deficit to 4.5 percent.

The Budget was initially expected to be presented in November 2018 but was postponed due to the constitutional crisis which occurred in the country on 26 October when President Maithripala Sirisena sacked sitting Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa instead.

A Vote on Account was passed following the reinstatement of Wickremesinghe while the Budget 2019 is expected to cover the last eight months of this year.