Wasantha Samarasinghe v Department of Inland RevenueRTIC Appeal 747/2018
Tax Compliance of Companies in the Iron/Steel Industries in Sri Lanka
By an information request made in 2018, the Appellant called for details of the Income Tax, Value Added Tax and Nation Building Tax paid by more than 15 iron/ steel producing companies registered in Sri Lanka in the last 5 years. The RTI Commission ruled that the RTI Act supersedes any contravening provisions in the Inland Revenue Act relied on by the Public Authority. The Commission further ruled that the tax compliance documentation furnished by these companies cannot be held to be information provided by the said companies in ‘commercial confidence’ in terms of the RTI Act, and that the overriding public interest in this Appeal mandates the disclosure of the information.
Order: