The Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha

¶ 01 Shall I first finish this clarification? Otherwise, my point would be lost.

¶ 02 In fact, Hon. Karunanayake, I would like to mention that it is not a dictation from the IMF; we work in a collaborative way on a programme. When the programme is in place, actions are taken and benchmarks are set. So, September is a new structural benchmark and it does not mean that it is something that we have to do compulsorily. Regarding that particular benchmark also, they have very clearly stated that we have to establish a very good refund system and then only we can move forward. In any case, there may be situations, due to unforeseen or unavoidable reasons, where we would not be able to implement that. If that is the case, we have room to discuss and negotiate.

¶ 03 Just to point out one thing, yesterday, the Hon. President had a discussion on Zoom with the Managing Director of the IMF, Ms. Kristalina Georgieva. She also reaffirmed the IMF’s continued support to the efforts to revive Sri Lanka’s economy, going beyond the IMF programme. So, that is that.

¶ 04 Then, regarding ASYCUDA, the point-of-sale approach and e-invoicing you raised, I would like to say that we have to bring in technology to have a very good system for VAT refunds and, of course, to go for point-of-sale machines and e-invoicing. Initial discussions and work have already been done in this regard with consultation of all the stakeholders.

¶ 05 So, thank you very much for your constructive ideas. We will work accordingly. Thank you.