SALES TAX

(1) Subject to such exemptions as may be prescribed, there shall be imposed and levied a tax (in this Act referred to as ” Sales tax “) at such rate as the Minister may fix by Order published in the Gazette on the value of every article (not being an article set out in the Schedule to this Act) which is sold by any person who is required by any regulation to be registered for the purposes of this Act to any other person who is not so required to be registered or which is imported into Sri Lanka by any person who is not so required to be registered. Different rates may be fixed by the Minister in respect of different articles.

(2) The rate of the Sales tax on any article subject to Sales tax may, from time to time, be varied by the Minister by Order published in the Gazette.

(3) Every Order under subsection (1) or subsection (2) or subsection (5) shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Gazette or on such later date as may be specified in the Order, and shall be brought before Parliament within a period of one month from the date of the publication of such Order in the Gazette, or, if no meeting of Parliament is held within such period, at the first meeting of Parliament held after the expiry of such period, by a motion that such Order shall be approved. There shall be set out in a schedule to every such motion the text of the Order to which the motion refers.

(4) Any Order under subsections (1), (2) or (5) which Parliament refuses to approve shall, with effect from the date of such refusal, be deemed to be revoked but without prejudice to the validity of anything done thereunder. Notification of the date on which any such Order is deemed to be revoked shall be published in the Gazette.

(5) The Minister may by Order published in the Gazette amend the Schedule to this Act by the addition thereto of any article other than those enumerated therein, or by the omission of any article enumerated therein or otherwise.

(a) which is imported into Sri Lanka by any person who is registered under this Act in respect of any business ; or

(b) which is manufactured or produced or stored in Sri Lanka by such person, shall be deemed until the contrary is proved to have been so imported, or so manufactured or produced or stored, as the case may be, for the purpose of sale.

(a) all matters stated or required under this Act to be prescribed ;

(b) the registration of persons who sell articles imported into, or produced or manufactured in, Sri Lanka or who import articles into Sri Lanka;

(c) the collection of information necessary for the purposes of this Act;

(d) the returns to be made, and the books, registers and other records to be maintained by persons registered for the purposes of this Act, and the forms of such returns, books, registers and other records;

(e) the inspection of books, registers and records maintained for the purposes of this Act, and of any other document relating to sales of articles;

(f) the production of, and the taking of copies of, registers and records maintained for the purposes of this Act and of other documents relating to sales of articles;

(g)the powers of each competent authority administering the provisions of this Act and of the subordinate officers of each such authority;

(h) the levy and payment of Sales tax, the imposition of penalties on defaulters, and the recovery of Sales tax and penalties from defaulters in a summary manner;

(i) the right of appeal to the competent authority from any decision made by a subordinate officer of that authority;

(j) the service of notices for the purposes of this Act;

(k) the refund of excess Sales tax paid by any person under this Act.

(a) in the case of an article imported by any person for his own use, be the price that article would fetch on a sale in the open market in Sri Lanka if no Sales tax were chargeable in respect of the sale; and

(b) in the case of any other article subject to Sales tax, be the price which such article would fetch on a sale made at the time when the tax in respect of such article becomes due, by a person selling in the open market in Sri Lanka to a retail dealer carrying on business in Sri Lanka, if no Sales tax were chargeable in respect of the sale.

(1) Any person who-

(2) On the conviction of any person for failure to have his business registered and to have himself registered as the proprietor thereof in the register of businesses, such person shall be liable to pay, in addition to any punishment that may be imposed on him under subsection (1), a fine of rupees fifty for each day on which the failure is continued after conviction thereof.

(a) if that body is a body corporate, every director and officer of that body corporate; and

(b) if that body of persons is a firm, every partner of that firm, shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence :

Provided that a director or an officer or such body corporate or a partner of such firm shall not be deemed to be guilty of that offence if he proves that such offence was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.