The Committee on Public Finance (COPF) has approved the Order under the Strategic Development Project Act, No. 14 of 2008 published under the Extraordinary Gazette Notification 2291/25 after the Board of Investment (BOI) provided a proper analysis earlier today.

At the COPF meeting headed by its chairman MP Harsha de Silva yesterday(Oct. 03), its members refused to approve the Order under the StrategicDevelopment Project Act, citing the BOI’s failure to provide a proper analysis.

The Order was scheduled to the debated in the parliament today.

This Order, published under the Gazette No. 2291/25 dated August 03, 2022 and enacted by the President, in his capacity as the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization & National Policies, was presented to Parliament on September 20.

At yesterday’s meeting, the COPF chairman inquired from BOI chairmanRaja Edirisuriya, about the benefits to the Sri Lankan economy through thisOrder, presented regarding giving 12-year tax relief to a company investing in Sri Lanka.

The COPF chairman expressed his strong displeasure at the failure of the BOI to provide sufficient information in this regard and said that he could not approve it at this time.

He explained that COPF has no problem regarding this tax relief or these companies and pointed out that a formal analysis including data on its economic impact should be submitted to the committee when such decisions are taken.

The committee noted that the Board of Investment, one of the most important institutions for the economic progress of a country, should be more responsible.

Accordingly, the COPF chairman instructed the BOI officials to appear before the committee with all required data and analysis by 9:00 a.m. today.