The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, Hon. Deputy Minister, I appreciate your very practical answer. That is exactly my point. You earlier quoted what I had mentioned. We were all thinking that the prospective approach ASYCUDA would be introduced and that it would link up the 34 government institutions. But, Hon. Minister, the reality is that the officials do not work at the speed that you and I would like them to. That is why I said what I said at that particular moment. That effort has been attempted for about seven or eight years. Tax evasion exists. I know that what you stated is a laudable step, but the point-of-sale approach that the President addressed in the Budget Speech is what you have to take forward.

¶ 02 Another matter is that when you are competing in a region where the interest rate is 3 to 4 per cent, our competition basically faces a 10 to 11 per cent cost of capital disadvantage.

¶ 03 Imposing an additional bureaucratic process would only deprive our exporters from competing under already difficult circumstances. So, it was a more proactive approach because being in the industry, I know for a fact this is a herculean task. You set about providing answers correctly. Let us get together and ensure that we put this system in place. But if you adopt the point-of-sale approach tomorrow, you would have a quick refund system in place. I appreciate it. So, let us work together. As you quite rightly said, the SVAT would not be implemented until a firm refund mechanism is in place. That is the answer required. But to say “September and IMF-mandated” is not the answer. With all authority, I say that the IMF is a way forward, but they cannot dictate terms. So, you decide on a policy and take it forward. That is the correct step, I would say without any hesitation. So, please ensure that it is done.

¶ 04 Sir, another matter: the Central Bank makes Monetary Policy, but they must follow Government policy as well. You expect Rs. 5 trillion to be your revenue. With an interest rate of 17 to 18 per cent, you would never be able to achieve the expected 5 per cent growth in the economy in the next ten months or by the end of the financial year.

¶ 05 So, it is in that spirit I raised this Question, being an exporter. Therefore, please ensure that you take a practical approach in this issue, like the Answer you gave. I would appreciate if the SVAT is done away with, with only a guaranteed refund system in place.