Sri Lanka’s Auditor General’s remarks on the lately released 2016 Annual Report of country’s largest private sector workers’ Pension Fund Employees Provident Fund (EPF) that is managed by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, points out that EPF had paid over Rs. 17.5 million as PAYE ('Pay As You Earn') for the year under review, on employment of the officers of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka attached to the EPF and had not been recovered from the relevant officers.

Accordingly Auditor General notes that “Payment of 'Pay As you Earn' (PAYE tax on employment of the officers of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka attached to the Employees Provident Fund had not been recovered from the relevant officers and a sum of Rs. 17,571,467 had been paid as their PAYE Tax by the Fund in the year under review. This matter had been discussed at the Committee on Public Accounts on 26th February 2016.”

Further Auditor General highlights that “Accordingly it was informed by the Committee that a correct methodology be prepared being discussed with the Secretary to the Treasury in compliance with the instructions of the Budget in the year 2016 and Public Finance Circulars and update it. However action had not been taken accordingly even by the end of June 2017.”

In the remarks Auditor General quotes ‘Section 8.7 of the Public Enterprises Circular No. PED/12 of 2nd June 2003 and the Public Enterprises Circular No. 03/2016 of 29th April 2016’.

- Reporting by Devendra Francis