The parliamentary session was adjourned by Deputy Speaker Ajith Rajapakshe, until 9:30 a.m. tomorrow (Dec.11) due to a lack of quorum.

Debate on the Second Reading of the Value-Added Tax (Amendment) Bill and the Finance Bill was taken up in the House this morning.

The debate was scheduled to be held until 04:30 p.m. today, as per a decision taken by the Committee on Parliamentary Business. The decision was taken at a meeting held on November 20, under the chairmanship of Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena.

Citing the Standing Orders of the Parliament, Opposition MP Nalin Bandara, brought the attention of the Deputy Speaker to the quorum.

Accordingly, the Deputy Speaker decided to adjourn the session as the quorum was not present even after the division bell was rung for 5 minutes.

The quorum of Parliament required in terms of the article 73 of the Constitution, is 20 Members including the person presiding.

In a statement, the Department of Communication of Parliament, said, “In terms of Standing Order 11 of the Parliament, if at any time the attention of the Speaker or any other Member presiding is directed to the fact that a quorum is not present, the Speaker or any other Member presiding shall order the division bells to be rung and if at the expiration of five minutes a quorum be not present, the Speaker or any other Member presiding shall adjourn Parliament without question put.”

Meanwhile, the last three days of the Committee Stage Debate of the budget are scheduled to be held until Wednesday (Dec.13), and the division on the Third Reading (or Committee Stage) of the Appropriation Bill (Budget) for the financial year 2024 is scheduled to be held at 06:00 p.m. on that day.

Commencing debate on VAT amendments in Parliament, Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said Value-Added Tax (VAT) would be imposed on 97 out of the 138 goods that were previously freed from the tax, in a bid to boost state revenue.

Speaking further, the lawmaker said Short Message Service (SMS) in fixed telephone networks will also be subjected to VAT, given the increased number of text messages sent.

However, medicines, equipment used by disabled persons, rice flour, wheat flour, vegetables, fruits, liquid milk, and the ‘Suwaseriya’ ambulance service will not be subjected to VAT, the state minister assured.