A valid Taxpayer Identification Number certificate will be compulsory for eight categories of everyday transaction from 1 November 2026, the Inland Revenue Department has announced — including opening a bank account, registering a vehicle and buying land.
The requirement is introduced under the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act, No. 11 of 2026, and applies to transactions specified under Section 102(3) of the Inland Revenue Act, NewsFirst reported.
The eight transactions
From 1 November, a TIN certificate must be produced in order to:
- open an account at any bank or financial institution
- obtain approval for a building plan
- register a motor vehicle
- renew a motor vehicle licence
- register land, or title to land
- register a business
- transfer shares of a company incorporated in Sri Lanka
- obtain a credit card
In the case of share transfers, the requirement falls on both the transferee and the transferor, Newswire reported.
Who must hold a TIN
The IRD said obtaining a TIN is mandatory for all resident individuals who were 18 or older as at 31 December 2023, as well as anyone reaching 18 on or after 1 January 2024. Everyone who registers is issued a TIN certificate, which is the document that must now be presented.
The Department said officials responsible for processing the listed transactions have been instructed to confirm that a valid certificate is submitted before the transaction is processed or completed — shifting the requirement from a registration obligation to a point-of-service checkpoint.
Individuals can register, and verify an existing number, through the IRD’s e-Services platform.
Context
The Act was certified by the Speaker on 3 June, bringing the mandatory TIN provisions into law. Compliance has been the sticking point since: in June the IRD said around four million Sri Lankans had still not obtained a number despite registration already being mandatory.
The November deadline gives that group roughly five weeks before the absence of a certificate begins to block routine transactions.
Not reported
Neither report states what happens to a transaction attempted without a certificate after 1 November, whether any penalty attaches to the individual or the processing official, or whether non-residents and minors are affected. The IRD has not published a processing-capacity estimate for the expected surge in registrations.
