Friday Nov 15, 2024
Friday Nov 15, 2024
Monday, 17 May 2021 00:42 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has extended by three months the term of the 18-member Deregulation Commission.
The three-month term of the Commission appointed in January ended on 7 April, following which a three-month extension has been granted for it to conclude its work.
The Commission is Co-Chaired by former Secretary to the President and Principal Advisor to the President Lalith Weeratunga and John Keells Group Chairman Krishan Balendra and consists of public sector veterans, private sector leaders, entrepreneurs, law experts and professionals.
The Commission is tasked with reviewing all laws, regulations and circular instructions pertaining to Government finance, revenue laws and circular instructions, licensing and permit arrangements, investments, approvals and building permits etc., and how those regulations and circular instructions have evolved and circumstances influencing such regulations.
It will also assess as to whether the issuance of regulations and circular instructions has resulted in overregulation and deviated from the scope and objectives of original legislations and the relevance of them in the context of global standards and applicability of them in the Sri Lankan context to identify new rooms to adopt to make the most effective modern regulatory systems.
The other tasks of the Commission are to assess the cost of enforcement to the state, compliance cost to the people and potentials for corruption and irregular practices associated with complex and over regulatory systems; identify areas where simplifications and rationalisation could be made to existing regulations and circular instructions and issue directions to do away, modify if required and simplify all such regulations and study if there is a repetition that occurs due to issuing various approvals, permits and licences through the national level, provincial councils and local authorities, and take necessary measures to amend such processes appropriately.
The relevant Gazette was issued on Thursday (13 May).
