Cabinet nod to appoint new heads for several key State institutions

• D.R.S. Hapuarachchi new Commissioner General of Inland Revenue Department
• P.B.C.S. Nonis new Director-General of Sri Lanka Customs
• W.A. Sathkumara appointed as new Deputy Treasury Secretary
• Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena says all appointments made based on qualifications, seniority grades, extensive experience as SLAS officers in respective fields
• Points to Rs. 1,268 b total tax income last year, of which 
• Rs. 1,115 b was spent to pay State sector employee salaries and pension
• Expresses hope on new appointments to key institutions will effectively assist Govt. to up tax revenue

The Cabinet of Ministers at its inaugural meeting on Monday under the leadership of the incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe has approved top positions for key State revenue collecting institutions.

Accordingly, D.R.S. Hapuarachchi has been appointed as the new Commissioner General of the Inland Revenue Department, while P.B.C.S. Nonis has been appointed as the Director-General of Sri Lanka Customs and W.A. Sathkumara has been appointed as the Deputy Secretary to the Treasury.

“All these appointments were made after thorough consideration based on their qualifications and the seniority grades; alongside their extensive experiences as Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) officers in the respective fields,” Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Bandula Gunawardena said at the post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday.

In addition, senior information officer Jude Nilukshan has been appointed as the Director-General of the Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT).

The appointment recommendations to this effect were submitted by President Wickremesinghe in his capacity as the Finance Minister, where all three institutions are under the purview of it.

He said the key tax collecting departments such as the Inland Revenue, Customs, and Excise are extremely important, as it helps to cover the day-to-day expenses of the Government.

“Last year the tax income of the Government was only Rs. 1,268 billion, and of that Rs. 1,115 billion was spent on to pay the State sector employees’ salaries and as pension. Only Rs. 153 billion has remained for all the other development and welfare initiatives. Thus, everyone can imagine the importance of an effective tax system and collection of it to roll out all economic activities,” Gunawardena explained.

The Cabinet Spokesman also expressed hope that the new appointments to key institutions will effectively assist the Government to increase its tax revenue for the betterment of all citizens.