Having a Parliament approval is a must before the increase of Value Added Tax (VAT), former Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris says.
The observation was made at a press conference held in Colombo this afternoon (10).
Peiris went on to say the VAT was first introduced in Sri Lanka through an Act in 2001, thus it requires the approval of the Parliament before the tax increase. “Therefore, people are not obliged to pay more,” he asserted.
The former Minister also reminded the European Union (EU) has recommended the Government to implement a list of 58 conditions linking to several issues to regain the GSP Plus facility.
He pointed out the EU had however recommended the implementation of a list with 11 conditions to regain the facility, when he was the Foreign Minister.
“Now it has been increased to 58,” he said. Peiris also added the Cabinet approval was not granted for these conditions, failing them to regain the scheme that time.
