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Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
10th Parliament· 154 sittings on record · 30,475 speeches · latest 10 June 2026

Sitting of Wednesday, 22 January 2025

10th Parliament· 16 debates· 152 speeches· 63 speakers

Source: Hansard PDF (parliament.lk) ↗ ·No. 1739261035021938 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard

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Order of business

Speeches load per item. Summaries shown here are AI-generated and labelled; verbatim text is on each speech page.

  9. 9 Oral question Oral Question: Cess Levied on Finished Tea - Income Earned in 2024 (Q.8/2025) 7 speeches
    • The Hon. Speaker procedural
      Full speech →
    • The Hon. Lal Premanath JJB

      AI summary Lal Premanath asked the Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure to provide details on the cess levied on exported finished tea, including the current rate per kilogram and total revenue collected in 2024. He further requested a breakdown of allocations from that revenue to the Sri Lanka Tea Board, Tea Small Holdings Development Authority, and Tea Research Institute, and asked whether expenditure reports for those funds would be presented to Parliament.

      Public FinanceAgriculture Full speech →
    • The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna - Minister of Plantation and Community Infrastructure JJB

      AI summary The Minister provided a written reply on tea cess, confirming current rates on bulk tea, value-added packs, exports, and imports. He stated that total tea cess revenue collected in 2024 was Rs. 1.618 billion, almost entirely from exports, and that Customs remits these proceeds to the Consolidated Fund rather than transferring them to the Tea Board, Tea Research Institute, or Tea Small Holdings Development Authority.

      Public FinanceAgriculture Full speech →
    • The Hon. Lal Premanath JJB

      AI summary Lal Premanath asked when the allocation of cess funds to the Tea Board, Tea Small Holdings Development Authority, and Tea Research Institute was stopped, and the reasons for discontinuing it. The question was framed as a supplementary seeking clarification on prior funding arrangements for tea sector institutions.

      Agriculture Full speech →
    • The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna JJB

      AI summary Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna stated that previous governments and the Ministry of Finance had decided to credit cess revenue to the Treasury. He noted that, as a result, the Tea Board had not received any cess allocations since 2011.

      Public Finance Full speech →
    • The Hon. Lal Premanath JJB

      AI summary Hon. Lal Premanath raised concerns about the use of cess funds for the tea industry, noting its importance to millions of people including smallholders, factory owners, and workers. He said fertilizer, replanting support, and nursery assistance had not been provided adequately or on time, while acknowledging the recent provision of MOP fertilizer. He asked whether substantial funds would henceforth be allocated for tea industry development and whether the Government has a specific programme to strengthen the sector as a stable foreign exchange earner.

      AgriculturePublic Finance Full speech →
    • The Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna JJB

      AI summary Hon. K.V. Samantha Viddyarathna said tea cess has been remitted to the Treasury since 2011 and that the Government is prepared to discuss with the Finance Ministry a support programme for both smallholders and large estates. He noted that smallholders now produce over 75 per cent of national tea output, but many lands require costly replanting or infilling, while 21 Government-leased estates include fallow and under-replanted sections that the Government intends to revitalize. He also stated that fertilizer backlogs affecting the sector have been cleared, and that assistance from Russia, including 27,500 MT of MOP allocated to his Ministry, will be used for tea and coconut lands, including Government coconut estates that had lacked fertilizer for five years.

      Agriculture Full speech →