The Court of Appeal will deliver judgment on August 31 in the tax dispute brought by Sri Lanka’s national men’s and women’s cricket captains, after asking the Inland Revenue Department whether a recent change to the law alters the department’s position.
The writ applications were taken up on Wednesday before a bench comprising the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya PC, and Justice K. Priyantha Fernando.
The court noted that Parliament had amended the Inland Revenue Act to classify “sports persons” as Independent Service Providers — a category that does not attract Advance Personal Income Tax. It asked Deputy Solicitor General Manohara Jayasinghe, appearing for the department, whether the IRD would reconsider the decision being challenged in light of that amendment.
The Deputy Solicitor General said the amendment had no bearing on the dispute. National cricketers are employees because they are engaged under contracts with Sri Lanka Cricket, he argued, and submitted that the court should proceed to judgment.
Counsel Nishan Sydney Premathiratne, appearing for the two men’s national captains, cited the parliamentary Hansard in arguing that the amendment was introduced specifically to resolve uncertainty under the tax law. Parliament had placed sports persons alongside professionals such as doctors, lawyers, architects, videographers and singers, he said.
Premathiratne told the court that cricketers had been treated as independent service providers for more than 15 years before the department reclassified them as employees, which he said was done solely to impose Advance Personal Income Tax.
The petitioners said professional payments due to the players for the past seven months have been withheld because of the dispute, causing them significant hardship.
The court said it had already prepared its judgment but had postponed delivery. It gave all parties a week to file clarification documents before ruling on August 31.
Sources: Daily Mirror, Hiru News.
