The approval was given at the Cabinet meeting on Monday (Sept. 11).

The President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization & National Policies, has suggested that a proposal regarding the aforementioned revision be submitted to the committee stage of Value-Added Tax (Amendment) Bill when it is taken up for discussion in the parliament.

Previously, the Cabinet of Ministers had given the nod to submit to the parliament the draft bill prepared by the Legal Draftsman to revise the VAT Act No. 14 of 2022 including the repeal of SVAT scheme with effect from January 01, 2024.

However, the government says the representations made by relevant parties have pointed out that drastic issues are likely to emerge in finance flow in relation to individuals especially the exporters who have been registered under the system at present if the SVAT system is repealed without a strong VAT repayment system.

Therefore, it is apparent that it is appropriate to repeal the SVAT system step by step until a strong tax repaying mechanism is established, the government said further in a statement.