The Committee on Public Finance (CoPF) has approved a Rs. 71.7 billion relief package brought through Supplementary Estimate No. 03 of 2026, intended to cushion households against the economic fallout of the conflict in the Middle East.
The approval came at a committee meeting in Parliament chaired by MP Dr. Harsha de Silva, the Department of Communication of Parliament said.
Where the money goes
Officials told the committee the allocation has two components. The larger, Rs. 52.8 billion, is a reallocation to settle payments on relief measures already delivered, including the fuel subsidies granted in May and June 2026. The remaining Rs. 18.9 billion replenishes the annual budget contingency reserve, which had been drawn down to fund April’s fuel subsidy, fertiliser assistance for smallholder tea growers and support for the fisheries sector.
The committee was told fuel suppliers received roughly Rs. 20,507 million in subsidies for April alone — Rs. 15,000 million to the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, Rs. 2,340 million to Lanka IOC PLC, Rs. 1,666 million to RM Parks and Rs. 1,501 million to Sinopec. Members noted the subsidy should be understood as consumer relief rather than support to the fuel companies themselves, and as a temporary measure.
Separately, officials set out sectoral allocations under the package: Rs. 15 billion to the Ceylon Electricity Board, Rs. 8.2 billion for the Aswesuma welfare programme, Rs. 3 billion for Yala season agriculture, Rs. 2.2 billion for smallholder plantation farmers and Rs. 1.2 billion for fisheries.
No new borrowing
The entire sum will be met from the unspent balance of the Rs. 500 billion Supplementary Estimate No. 01 of 2026, which was approved for relief and recovery after Cyclone Ditwah. Only Rs. 243.9 billion of that had been used as at 30 June 2026.
Because the package reallocates provisions Parliament has already approved, officials said it will not raise the government’s 2026 expenditure ceiling or borrowing limit. A Rs. 20 billion supplementary estimate tied to the same conflict passed without a vote in June.
The committee also heard the Road Development Authority on post-Ditwah reconstruction, including Indian and Chinese assistance for damaged bridges, and discussed El Niño preparedness, with Dr. de Silva pressing for a stronger Disaster Management Statutory Fund. Deliberations on public sector salary structures and the Auditor General’s salary were carried over.
