Most companies registered in Sri Lanka are non-functional and hence he proposes an annual fee on all registered companies to be collected by the Registrar General of Companies to make them active again, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said recently in Parliament while presenting the Budget proposals for 2016.

The Finance Minister added that he proposes to charge Rs. 500,000 from companies liquidating voluntarily so as to discourage this practice.

However, several company secretaries to whom adaderanabiz.lk spoke to said that there were no such charges imposed earlier and that they had to pay only for the necessary forms that had to be filled for company liquidations.

While speaking at a conference on the budget yesterday (28 November), a senior commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department, Dhammika Gunatileke said that at a meeting the previous day, the Finance Minister had agreed to reduce this liquidation fee to Rs. 50,000 from the proposed Rs. 500,000.

Furthermore, the 2016 Budget includes a proposal that beginning 01 January 2016 all business entities should register themselves with their respective Local Government institutions by paying a nominal fee of Rs. 100 each and that these would be compulsory for any new businesses to obtain their common amenities like water and electricity connections.