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Taxes to be levied from importers who have earned undue profits
By Yohan Perera and Ajith Siriwardana
Parliament, April 2 (Daily Mirror)- The Ways and Means Committee has requested the Customs to handover the names of importers, who have earned undue profits last year, to the Inland Revenue Department so that they could be taxed, the Chairman of the Committee Patali Champika Ranawaka said today.
MP Ranawaka told a media briefing in Parliament that the Inland Revenue Department will charge 36 percent of their income as taxes.
“Some of the importers have started companies temporarily to import essential items and then fraudulently changed over to other companies,” the MP added.
Member of the Ways and Means Committee MP Dayasiri Jayasekera said some have registered companies on the names of their family members and have evaded paying Value Added Tax (VAT).
It was reported that importers of essential items such as big onions, potatoes and dried sprats have earned a total profit of Rs. 114 billion last year, the report of the Ways and Means Committee which was tabled in Parliament revealed.
The report which was tabled in the House by the Chairman of the Way and Means Committee Patali Champika Ranawaka said importers of big onions have earned a total profit of Rs. 80 billion in 2023, while importers of potatoes have earned profits of Rs 15.6 billion in 2023 and importers of dried sprats have earned a profit of Rs 18.6 billion.
The committee report said the prices of all these items have been increased by three folds despite the value of the rupee having depreciated almost twice proportionately to the US dollar.
The report has revealed that the price of a kilogram of big onions was Rs. 103 at the time the stocks were released from the Customs while the retail price was Rs. 365. The price of potatoes was Rs. 110 per kilogram while a kilogram was sold in the retail market at Rs. 203 a kilogram. The situation is the same with dried sprats as the cost of a kilogram has been Rs. 496 while the retail price has been Rs 1,307.50 a kilogram. The importers of onion have earned a profit level of 297.2 percent per kilogram in 2023, while potatoes have earned a profit level of 85 percent per kilogram and dried sprats have earned a profit level 164 percent per kilo.
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