Exchange Control Amendment Bill: Speaker receives 3 petitions filed in SC

Speaker Karu Jayasuriya yesterday announced that he received copies of three petitions filed in the Supreme Courts challenging the constitutionality of the Exchange Control Amendment Bill.

This Bill which seeks to repeal the present Act was presented to the House on April 7 this year.

This legislation seeks to repeal the Act and introduce fresh provisions giving the responsibility of promoting and regulating foreign exchange as the agent of the government.
Under this new Bill a person who holds foreign exchange in a bank account in Sri Lanka or owns any other foreign asset may utilize such foreign exchange for making any payment within and outside Sri Lanka.

In the case he or she does not hold foreign exchange it would be possible to convert these assets into foreign currency. (Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana)