Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva

¶ 01 (iii) Regulations under Section 237 to be read with Sections 21, 22, 23, 24 and 24A of the Motor Traffic Act (published in Extraordinary Gazette No. 2470/14 of 05 January 2026); and

¶ 02 (iv) I lay on the Table the Charter of a One Committee with regard to the Rehabilitation, Reorganization and Insolvency (Institutional and Individual) Bill.

¶ 03 Ordered to lie upon the Table.

¶ 04 Hon. Speaker, please allow me a minute to highlight the key points contained in these matters.

¶ 05 First, on the Colombo Port City: this is not that complex. Generally, a person entering the country can go to the Duty Free and spend up to USD 2,000. Under this, within one year, not only once but multiple visits to the Duty Free would be allowed to spend up to USD 2,000 each time.

¶ 06 Second, amendments to the Colombo Port City Economic Commission Act: these are simple changes. However, we discussed at length one change. Previously, it was provided that labour law and TEWA did not apply within Port City. When the matter went to Court, the Court stated that the entire Act could not be struck down but that certain sections should be removed. Accordingly, Sections 2, 11, and 12 were removed by the Government as directed by Court. I must point out one matter: previously, to terminate the service of an employee of an institution, an order and recommendation of the Commissioner of Labour had long been required. Under this Act, that order is no longer required. Hereafter, termination of an employee within Port City can be done by the respective institution without the Commissioner’s recommendation. This is somewhat concerning; we discussed it in Committee and it can be debated here.

¶ 07 Third, the regulations under the Motor Traffic Act: nothing major. By paying Rs. 1 million, one can obtain a preferred advance number for a vehicle, among the numbers 10 to 9,999, as available.

¶ 08 Fourth, the Rehabilitation, Reorganization and Insolvency (Institutional and Individual) Bill: this is very important. It has been discussed for 2–3 years and parts of it are now finalized. I will focus on one such part that we discussed at length in Committee. Presently, for many SMEs, parate execution is being enforced when they default. Under these new proposals, the policy shifts from liquidation to restructuring. For such cases, there is a 60-day period to go to Court and arrive at a negotiated solution with the creditor. Sixty days is insufficient. The Court can already extend the 60 days up to 90 days. However, as a Committee we discussed that this should be extended further. I stated I would raise this in Parliament too: if this period can be extended from 60 days up to around 180 days, it would be truly reasonable.

¶ 09 Thank you very much.