Sri Lanka’s promising progress with regard to free trade agreements, alongside finance reforms and ambitious growth strategies for manufacturing and ICT, look set to encourage increased foreign direct investment in 2019 – with 2018 having seen the highest levels on record. This should help offset the effects of political and economic volatility, as well at the increasing trade deficit that res
This chapter examines the legal system of Sri Lanka, focusing on raising loans via the Active Liability Management Act No. 8 of 2018; liberalising foreign land ownership through the Land Restriction on Alienation Act No. 21 of 2018; the Nation Building Tax (Amendment) Act No. 20 of 2018, which covers tax exemptions and exemption periods; the Value-added Tax (Amendment) Act No. 25 of 2018; and the investigations…
Viewpoint: John Wilson Sri Lanka outperformed most regional peers in the World Bank’s “Doing Business 2019” report in terms of trading across borders, though still lagged behind India. Sri Lanka was ranked 93rd, with India at 80th; Pakistan at 142nd; the Maldives at 155th; and Bangladesh at 176th. This needs to improve; however, it is true that several important legal developments have taken…
Significant developments in the legal framework were observed in 2018, following on from a number of important legislative reforms in 2017. However, it is the view of John Wilson Partners that a concerted effort must be made to finalise the reform of the archaic Customs Ordinance. Details of some of the problems arising from this legislation are dealt with in the view point article in this…
Viewpoint :John Wilson The Immigrants and Emigrants Act requires non-nationals entering Sri Lanka to obtain a visa unless exempted, although there are provisions for nationals of certain countries to enter without a visa for tourism or business purposes and to receive endorsement upon arrival. Administratively, an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) scheme is in place, which is required by…
Following on from 2016 – which saw a number of important legislative reforms – 2017 was another particularly significant year in which several changes were legislated or initiated by Parliament. The two major developments in the legal landscape enacted by Parliament were the passage of the Inland Revenue Act and the Foreign Exchange Act. Mangala Samaraweera, the minister of finance, initially…
This chapter examines Sri Lanka’s legal system, focusing on the updated Inland Revenue Act, the establishment of a new public-private partnership agency, the Foreign Exchange Act and other key areas. It also contains a legal framework viewpoint from John Wilson, Managing Proprietor, John Wilson Partners.…
Sri Lanka benefits from its strategic geographic position along a critical Indian Ocean trade route, strong base of industrial and cash crop exports, and rapidly expanding non-agricultural economy. High levels of public expenditure and rapid industrial expansion supported recent robust macroeconomic growth, averaging more than 6% between 2008 and 2014, as the country embarked on a period of post-w
The year 2016 saw significant developments in the legal reform sphere. The most fundamental development was without a doubt the enactment of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Many commentators consider that the RTI Act will be transformational and will go a long way to making government properly accountable. Minimum wage legislation was enacted as well. Another very important bill of Parliament…
Viewpoint: John Wilson In the round-up of significant legal and non-constitutional reforms adopted throughout the course of 2016, as well as in the highlights of the overview of this chapter, I have referred to in some detail the work of the Law Reform Commission Programme. I quoted from that programme of work in regard to the proposed work of the Law Reform Commission on legal reforms to deal with…
