Speaker endorses certificate on three key Bills
December 18, 2025 11:39 am
The Speaker of the Parliament, Dr. Jagath Wickramaratne announced to the House today that he endorsed the certificate on three Bills yesterday (17).
Accordingly, the Speaker endorsed the certificate on the Bills titled Social Security Contribution Levy (Amendment), the Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment), and the Strategic Development Projects (Amendment).
The primary purpose of the Social Security Contribution Levy (Amendment) Bill was to amend the Social Security Contribution Levy Act, No. 25 of 2022, according to a statement issued by the Department of Communications of Parliament.
The Bill was presented to Parliament on October 09, 2025, and the Bill was passed in Parliament on December 05, 2025.
The Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Bill, duly passed on December 05, aimed to amend Section 2 of the principal enactment.
Accordingly, amendments to the Bill aimed to limit the gross collection of ten per centum to have been applicable only for the time period from April 1, 2023, to October 1, 2025, increase the gross collection levy from persons carrying on a business of bookmaker or business of gambling to eighteen per centum from October 1, 2025, and increase the casino entrance levy from persons who are citizens of Sri Lanka to United States Dollars one hundred.
The Strategic Development Projects (Amendment) Bill, presented to Parliament on November 14, 2025, was passed in Parliament on December 05, 2025 for the purpose of amending the Strategic Development Projects Act, No. 14 of 2008, the statement said.
Accordingly, said amendments included reducing the maximum tax holiday period from twenty-five years to ten years and mandating a new process for project identification, the Board of Investment (BOI) identifying a project and referring it to the Ministry of Finance for a mandatory ex-ante cost-benefit analysis before any tax holiday or concession was granted, establishing new requirements for ex-post monitoring by the BOI, including the authority to impose administrative penalties or restrict or revoke exemptions for non-compliance with key performance indicators, requiring tax returns to be filed, and mandating the Ministry of Finance to publish an annual report on tax expenditures related to these projects.
Accordingly, the said three Bills will come into force as the Social Security Contribution Levy (Amendment) Act, No. 24 of 2025, the Betting and Gaming Levy (Amendment) Act, No. 25 of 2025, and the Strategic Development Projects (Amendment) Act, No. 26 of 2025.
