The Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs
The Minister tabled an answer on the online visa issuance arrangement involving IVS-GBS, VF Worldwide Holding Ltd., and the Department of Immigration and Emigration. He stated that although the Committee on Public Finance had recommended a forensic audit, the Auditor General’s Department has instead conducted a special audit, with the draft sent to the Department for final observations due by 17 September 2025. He further noted that eight fundamental rights cases challenging the E-visa procurement and contract award process are pending before the Supreme Court, and that further action will follow the Court’s judgments.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, I table the answer.
¶ 02 Answer tabled:
¶ 03 (a) (i) As per paragraph 1:10 of the report issued on 12.07.2024 by the Committee on Public Finance regarding the commencement of the online visa issuance service between GBS Technology Services & IVS Global FZCO (IVS-GBS) and VF Worldwide Holding Ltd. and the Department of Immigration and Emigration, it was recommended that the Auditor General’s Department conduct a forensic audit.
¶ 04 (ii) A forensic audit has not been conducted. The Auditor General’s Department has conducted a special audit in this regard and its draft has been sent to the Department of Immigration and Emigration for final observations. The Department has been requested to provide observations by 17.09.2025.
¶ 05 (iii) Eight cases challenging the E-visa issuance process are currently pending before the Supreme Court. Upon delivery of judgments in those cases, further action will be taken. Details are in Annex 01.
¶ 06 Annex 01 (Summary): 1) SC/FR/203/2024 (filed 30.07.2024) – M.A. Sumanthiran and others – fundamental rights regarding award of contract to VFS; lawfulness of procurement process. 2) SC/FR/204/2024 (filed 30.07.2024) – Abdul Rauff Hakeem – same reliefs as above. 3) SC/FR/205/2024 (filed 30.07.2024) – Arachchige Palitha Champika Ranawaka – same. 4) SC/FR/218/2024 (filed 26.07.2024) – Sri Lanka Association of Inbound Tour Operators and five others – same. 5) SC/FR/219/2024 (filed 14.08.2024) – Rohan Pethiyagoda; Chandra Jayaratne – same. 6) SC/FR/221/2024 (filed 30.07.2024) – Transparency International Sri Lanka; Pulasthi R.K. Hewamanna – same. 7) SC/FR/222/2024 (filed 30.07.2024) – Dissanayake Mudiyanselage Disanayake – same. 8) SC/FR/223/2024 (filed 30.07.2024) – Kalu Kotte Kankanage Ashoka Ranjan Abeysinghe – same.
¶ 07 (b) Does not arise.
Provenance
- Source
- Hansard, Friday, 12 September 2025 ·No. 1758618446023035 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Ananda Wijepala - Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 12 September 2025. No. 1758618446023035. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/3234