CA declines extension of Interim Order on collecting taxes from Judges 

The Court of Appeal has declined to further extend the Interim Order preventing the imposition of the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) tax on judges’ salaries. The decision was reached by a majority of judges on the five-member judge bench, presided over by the Court of Appeal’s President, Nissanka Bandula Karunaratne, during yesterday’s hearing (25).

An Interim Order was initially issued by the Court of Appeal on 25 January, preventing the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) from collecting PAYE taxes from judges following the consideration of a petition filed by several judicial associations.

The associations had filed the petition, contending that deducting the tax from judges’ salaries is deemed ‘inappropriate’ and goes against the constitutional law. The petitions identified the Chief Accountant and the Secretary to the Ministry of Justice as respondents in the case.

However, the judge bench also yesterday unanimously ruled to consider three petitions filed by the Sri Lanka Judicial Service Association, High Court Judges’ Association, and Labour Court Presidents’ Association, seeking the dismissal of the decision to deduct the PAYE tax from judges’ salaries.

As a result, the Court of Appeal directed the issuance of notices to the respondents of those petitions and set the deadline for filing objections related to the case on or before 31 August. The next hearing for the petitions is scheduled for 22 September 2023.