W.M. Mendis was ordered by Colombo Magistrate’s Court to pay Rs. 5.8 billion in unpaid VAT, with the case fixed for September 30.
W.M. Mendis and Company directors have been ordered by the Colombo Magistrate’s Court to immediately pay Rs. 5,800 million in outstanding Value Added Tax without making further excuses.
The case was taken up before Colombo Additional Magistrate Oshada Migara Mahaarachchi, where Arjun Aloysius, one of the company directors named as a defendant, appeared before court.
During proceedings, the lawyer appearing for the defendant company informed court that a portion of the outstanding tax amount had already been paid. However, he also stated that under the present circumstances, as the company’s assets had been mortgaged and seized by banks, it had so far not been possible to locate the documents needed to confirm that the taxes had been paid.
Attorney Dinesh Perera, appearing on behalf of the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, strongly objected to that position. He told court that if the taxes had in fact been paid, the relevant official documents must be produced before court, and that claiming the documents had been misplaced was not an acceptable excuse.
He further emphasised that the deadline for paying the taxes had long passed and that the outstanding amount was substantial. Therefore, he argued, the defendants should not be granted any further concessions.
After considering the submissions, the Additional Magistrate ordered the defendants to expedite payment of the outstanding amount, taking into account the period during which the tax payment had been withheld.
The Additional Magistrate also directed the defendants to make a clear and final statement on whether the tax amount would be paid without further delay at the next hearing date. The case was adjourned until September 30.
