Parliament set to approve tax concessions for CIFC this week

Colombo Port City 

• PM to present regulations to Parliament on Thursday
• Tax exemptions will be for construction of first of five vertical iconic towers at Colombo Port City
• Project to be implemented in two phases consisting of five vertical iconic towers
• Project company will include tax exemptions including VAT, Customs duties, income and PAYE taxes  
• First Parliament session in New Year begins today 

By Chandani Kirinde 

Parliament is set to approve several regulations under the Strategic Development Projects Act on Thursday to grant a wide range of concessions for the Colombo International Financial Centre Mixed Development Project at the Colombo Port City.

The tax exemptions will be for the construction of the first of five vertical iconic towers at Colombo Port City, the Cabinet approval for which was granted in October 2020. The relevant regulations will be presented to Parliament by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as the Minister of Finance.

The project will be implemented in two phases with Phase One consisting of one international Grade A high rise-office tower, two high-end residential towers and a retail podium while Phase Two will consist of two international Grade A high-rise office towers and a retail podium.

The conditional concessions include exemption from the Ports and Airports Development Levy Act, Customs duties, Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, Corporate Income Tax for voting periods.

During the Project Implementation Period, up to a maximum of 30 expatriate staff at any given time will be exempted from the applicable Pay-As-You- Earn (PAYE) Tax/Personal Income Tax.

The Project Company shall be required to gradually replace expatriate staff with local employees on a best effort basis with 75% of the unskilled labour requirement  to be sourced locally, 65% of the skilled labour requirement  to be sourced locally while 75% of the white-collar workers also to be sourced locally.

Meanwhile Parliament will meet today for the first time in the New Year and four days of sitting have been scheduled.

Four Bills including amendments to the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act, Employment Of Women, Young Persons And Children Act (No. 47 of 1956)- Section 9, Minimum Wages (Indian Labourers) Ordinance and the Factories Ordinance No. 45 of 1942 will be taken up for debate today.

The Acts are being amended to increase the minimum age for employing children from 14 to 16 years.

Prime Minister’s Question Time will also be held on Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.