Panel discussion today on ‘Foreign Ownership and Leasing of Land by Foreigners –Ideas for Reform’
Monday, 6 April 2015 00:00
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UTO EduConsult will conduct a programon ‘Foreign Ownership and Leasing of Land by Foreigners – Ideas for Reform’ on Monday 6 April from 3p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Galadari Hotel, Colombo with the objective of demystification of the law in relation to ownership and leasing of land by foreigners.
This programme would focus on highlighting the finer points and impacts of the Act from many dimensions including legal, accounting, taxation et al and ideas for reform of the existing blanket prohibitions to provide flexibility whilst preserving the national interest.
The programwill commence with presentations delivered by K. Kanag-Isvaran, PC and Suresh Perera, Tax Attorney, KPMG. This will be followed by a panel discussion with several eminent panellists, such as Kalyani Dahanayake, Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, Vajira Kulatilaka, Chairman, Colombo Stock Exchange, Mangala Yapa, CEO – Chamber of Commerce, Manil Jayesinghe, Senior Partner, Ernst&Young and the two presenters. The session will be moderated by Nisthar Cassim, Editor Daily FT.
Organisers said many countries in the South Asian region rely on foreign investments for economic development and Sri Lanka is no exception. It was in the Budget 2012thatthe Government spelt out its intention of safeguarding the national interest by stating that “foreigners” will not be allowed to purchase State land on a freehold basis. However later on, this was administratively widened to include both, State and privately-owned land. This may have sent out mixed signals to foreigners.
There was much confusion by the time the Land Bill was introduced, mainly because that it was significantly different from the various Administrative Circulars which were in force since November 2012 and was also under heavy criticism due to the imposition and collection of lease tax while the provisions were pending enactment.
The Parliament enacted the Land (Restrictions on Alienation) Act No. 38 of 2014 which was certified on 29October 2014. The law introduced restrictions for ownership for three categories of persons subject to certain exemptions and special rules for listed companies. The provision also imposes a ‘Land Lease Tax,’ which is an upfront tax on lease of land to foreigners. However the confusion and criticisms continued as the law was introduced retrospectively from January 2013 and also included provisions which some pointed out as being impractical. There are anomalies in the existing laws as well.
Sri Lanka has a total land area of 65,610 Km2.It is important to preserve the national interest by restricting foreign ownership. The practical considerations require national interest be preserved by allowing foreign investors to participate in the development of the Sri Lankan economy as well. How would one reform the current blanket prohibitions on foreign ownership, what are the lessons to be learnt from other jurisdictions such as Singapore, Thailand, etc., what is the impact of the Act from a legal, accounting, taxation et al.
For more details, please visit http://utoeduconsult.com/courses.php or contact 0775837575/0777466488.
