TIN number law changes could criminalise tax filing failures, missed payments and non-compliance as Sri Lanka seeks higher state revenue.
TIN number law amendments now before Parliament could make failure to obtain a Tax Identification Number a criminal offence for citizens over 18.
The proposed changes to the Inland Revenue Act also seek to criminalise failure to properly file tax returns with the Inland Revenue Department and failure to appear before the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue when required.
The draft Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill containing these provisions was published in an extraordinary gazette dated February 24, 2026, and has already been presented to Parliament.
The second reading debate on the amended Bill is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 19.
An official from the Inland Revenue Department said the purpose of introducing these amendments is to expand government revenue at a time when there is a widening gap between state income and expenditure.
The official also said the government hopes to increase the number of taxpayers and reach a target of raising Sri Lanka’s tax revenue to 20 percent of Gross Domestic Product, or GDP.
He further stated that these tax revenue targets are linked to agreements made under the US$2.9 billion loan facility obtained from the International Monetary Fund.
In an inquiry conducted by us on the matter, tax lawyer Suresh Perera said the proposed amendments are constitutional.
He noted that the Supreme Court has already delivered a verdict stating that the Bill can be passed by a simple majority in Parliament.
However, Perera warned that the amendments could allow courts to treat even routine tax payments, which may sometimes be missed inadvertently by members of the public, as criminal offences.
He said such offences could then be punished under the law.
The lawyer further stated that the relevant Act provides for a person convicted of these offences to be fined up to Rs. 400,000 or sentenced to imprisonment for up to six months.
However, Suresh Perera also said he believes the government will take steps to amend such clauses in the Act before they create unfair consequences for ordinary taxpayers.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, posting a note on X, formerly Twitter, strongly criticised the proposed changes to the Inland Revenue Act.
He warned that the new amendments could treat a small-scale businessman struggling to survive in the same way as a person who deliberately evades millions of rupees in taxes.
Premadasa said that instead of correcting the tax system, modernising the Inland Revenue Department, and making tax compliance easier, the government has chosen the shortcut of criminalising ordinary people.
