The Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) has warned that administrative penalties may be imposed on people who filed their 2026 Annual or Post-Retirement Declarations of Assets and Liabilities after the 30 June deadline, with the penalty scaled to the number of days each submission was late.
Those affected have been given an opportunity to avoid the penalty by explaining the delay, where reasonable cause can be established, the Daily Mirror reported.
Who this applies to, and by when
The window covers declarants who submitted after 30 June and on or before 31 August 2026. They have until 30 September 2026 to submit written reasons for the delay, together with any relevant documentary evidence.
The opportunity is provided under Section 80(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023. The applicable administrative penalties are prescribed under Section 90 of the same Act.
CIABOC said that failure to submit reasons and supporting evidence by 30 September will be treated as a failure to show reasonable cause, and the penalty will be imposed accordingly.
How to submit
Submissions must carry the subject line “Reasons for the delay” and include the declarant’s National Identity Card number and telephone number. They may be sent:
- By post to the Director, Assets and Liabilities Declaration Division, CIABOC, No. 36, Malalasekara Mawatha, Colombo 07
- By email to [email protected]
The deadline this follows
The 30 June cut-off was publicised well in advance. This notice is the enforcement stage of that cycle rather than a new filing requirement.
It also lands against a wider shift in how these declarations are handled. Under the Anti-Corruption Act, asset declarations became accessible to the public — a change that raises the stakes on both filing and lateness.
Notably, the cut-off for the concession is 31 August. The report does not say what happens to anyone who has still not filed at all, or who filed in September.
Not reported
The Daily Mirror does not say how many declarations were filed late, how many people the notice affects, or what the penalty amounts to per day of delay under Section 90. It does not state whether the penalty is a fixed scale or discretionary, what counts as reasonable cause, whether there is an appeal route, or whether non-filers face prosecution rather than an administrative penalty. CIABOC is not quoted directly.
Update, 9 September: Hiru corroborates, and adds the contact channels
Hiru News has carried the same CIABOC notice, matching the Daily Mirror on every material point — the 30 June deadline, the 31 August cut-off for the concession, the 30 September date for explanations, Section 90 fines “calculated based on the number of days delayed,” and the warning that silence will be read as an absence of reasonable cause.
Its account adds the parts of the notice the Daily Mirror left out:
- Telephone and fax: 0112587287. WhatsApp: 0767011954. Neither number appeared in the first report, and both are the practical route for a declarant checking whether they are affected.
- Postal submissions should bear the marking “Reason for Delay” in the top left corner of the envelope; electronic submissions carry the same wording in the subject line. The Daily Mirror gave the subject line as “Reasons for the delay” — a wording difference between the two reports, which the Commission’s own gazette notice would settle.
- Hiru gives the postal address as No. 36, Malalasekera Mawatha, Colombo 07, addressed to the Director (Asset and Liability Declaration Division), matching the first report.
Hiru also frames the relief slightly differently, describing the Commission as allowing declarants to “show reasonable cause before administrative fines are levied” — that is, the fines are already legally enforceable under Section 90 and the Commission is choosing to hear explanations first, rather than the penalty being contingent on the outcome.
The story is no longer single-source. None of the figures the first report lacked — how many filed late, or what the per-day penalty is — appear in either account.
