VAT Bill Debacle ?

The Government  could not manage to  get through  the new  VAT bill  in Parliament.  The Supreme court determined that provisions of the constitution had not been  observed in presenting the bill to Parliament.   The Government  has held discussion and resubmitted  the amended  VAT bill in Parliament.

In the meantime, four petition have been filed in the Supreme Court  by individuals.

Parliamentarians Bandula Gunawardena, Udaya Gammanpila and Sisira Jayakody are among them,  who  filed these Special Determination Petitions seeking a declaration that the Bill shall become law only through a two-thirds majority in Parliament and the approval of the people at a referendum.

Special Determination Petitions filed challenging the constitutionality of the Bill titled Value Added Tax (Amendment) are to be taken up for argument in the Supreme Court on October 17.