Legal Framework
From The Report: Sri Lanka 2019
View in Online Reader

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 and impositions included under the Anti-dumping and Countervailing Duties Act No. 2 of 2018. This chapter contains a viewpoint from John Wilson, Managing Proprietor, John Wilson Partners.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Stimulus package: Recent reforms seek to enhance debt management, increase investment and spending, and safeguard local industry
OBG
plus

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 chapter. Active Liability Management Act No. 8 of2018 This act was enacted by the Sri Lankan…

Viewpoint

Facilitating trade: John Wilson, Managing Proprietor, John Wilson Partners, on international trade and comprehensive reform of Customs law
OBG
plus

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 place in the area of international trade. For example, Sri Lanka signed up to the World Trade Organisation’s…