Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) MP Eran Wickramaratne has submitted a private members bill to amend the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, No 14 of 2002 to transfer the powers vested in the minister of finance to parliament.
The new bill proposes that any order made by the Minister of Finance shall come into force only upon the approval of the regulation by Parliament.
Currently, the finance minister has the powers to impose, remove,increase or reduce the VAT levy at his whims via gazette notifications overnight.
The gazette needs parliamentary approval only after three months. In the past, this system had paved the way for corruptions favouring certain individuals and companies, supportive of the ruling elites.
Soon after the 2019 elections, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa reduced the VAT levy from 15 % to 8% percent causing a loss of one third of the state revenue.
SLFP MP Dayasiri Jayasekara seconding the proposal by Eran Wickramaratne said it was an important piece of law as previously presidents and finance ministers of the country made financial decisions disregarding the parliament which has full control over public finance under Article 148 of the Constitution.
Jayasekara said that this proposal restores the powers of the parliament over public finance, ensuring checks and balances over the acts of the executive.
