Thursday Jan 23, 2025
Thursday Jan 23, 2025
Thursday, 23 January 2025 05:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
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CIOB President Dr. Rohan Karunaratne
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The Ceylon Institute of Builders (CIOB) President Dr. Rohan Karunaratne yesterday charged that the Social Security Contribution Levy (SSCL) is seriously impacting contractors.
The SSCL was implemented by the previous Government in 2022.
“It clearly states that all contracts signed after 1 October 2022 are liable for the SSCL, which the client has to pay in addition to the 18% tax. It is very unfortunate that many clients have refused to adhere to pay this additional 2.5% to contractors,” said Dr. Karunaratne. “Many contractors admit that none of their clients have paid this, which leaves them unable to pay this levy to the Government. Due to competitive tendering, near-zero margins, compounding losses etc. contractors cannot pay the SSCL personally,” he charged. However, according to the CIOB Chief, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) levies the SSCL from the total VAT amount, in addition to all other taxes, add penalties, and threaten contractors with legal action. Some projects, such as funded projects, infrastructure projects etc., are exempted from the SSCL, yet these thresholds are often ignored and the SSCL is imposed on all.
Therefore, Dr. Karunaratne said the CIOB has strictly requested all relevant Ministry Secretaries to instruct the IRD to halt charging contractors until necessary directives have been enforced.
In this regard, the Urban Development, Construction, and Housing Ministry Secretary has verbally committed to aligning actions with these requests during a recent meeting with the construction industry.
Similarly, during a meeting held between the Finance Ministry and the CIOB last week, assurances were provided to fulfil these proposals, said Dr. Karunaratne.
