Sri Lanka - Saudi Arabia to sign double tax avoidance deal to boost trade and investment

In a bid to enhance trade and investment relations in the two countries, the Government has agreed to ink an agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to avoid double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion on income.

The proposal to this effect submitted by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies to sign the said accord at diplomatic level, and to submit the same to the Parliament for the approval as per the provisions of section 75 (1) of Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017 was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers at its meeting on Monday.

“This double taxation avoidance agreement is in line with the Government policy to enhance the trade and economic relations between Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia,” Cabinet Co-Spokesman and Minister Bandula Gunawardena said at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday.

The agreement has been made for the accord between the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to prevent double taxation on the income and prevent evasion of taxes at officer level.

“The Attorney General has confirmed that the accord has been completed as per section 75 (3) of the Inland Revenue Act No. 24 of 2017 while the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has agreed to sign the relevant accord,” a statement comprising Weekly Cabinet Decisions issued by the Government Information Department noted.

Gunawardena said it is expected that with the conclusion of this agreement, not only the bilateral economic relationship between the two countries but also the flow of investment into the country would be enhanced.