The Committee on Public Finance has approved Foreign Exchange Regulations Nos. 01 and 02 of 2026, together with the Order issued under Section 22 of the Foreign Exchange Act, following discussions with Central Bank officials.
The regulations govern three things: overseas investment by Sri Lankan residents, the transfer abroad of assets held by emigrants, and the temporary measures restricting foreign exchange outflows, according to the Parliament’s own account of the meeting.
The committee met in Parliament under the chairmanship of Dr. Harsha de Silva.
Outward investment
Regulations No. 01 of 2026 cover investments made overseas by persons resident in Sri Lanka. The committee examined who is eligible to invest abroad, the sectors in which such investments may be made, and the restrictions that apply to transferring capital overseas.
Members also took up the opportunities available to Sri Lankan companies seeking to expand operations abroad, and the financial facilities such expansion would require — the outward side of a capital account that has been tightly held since the crisis.
Emigrants’ assets
Regulations No. 02 of 2026 deal with the procedures and restrictions that apply when emigrants transfer assets held in Sri Lanka overseas. Central Bank officials briefed members on the existing provisions for transferring capital abroad under the Emigrant’s Allowance, and on the remittance of current income such as rental income, interest and dividends.
The outflow controls, and when they might ease
The committee also examined the Order issued under Section 22 of the Foreign Exchange Act. Officials set out the temporary measures currently in force to regulate foreign exchange outflows, framed against prevailing economic conditions and the need to protect reserves — which stood at $6.9 billion at end-August.
Officials told the committee the Central Bank is considering a gradual relaxation of these restrictions as economic conditions improve. The meeting also covered export earnings repatriated by exporters during the previous year, and the possibility of allowing a portion of those earnings to be retained.
Who attended
Deputy Ministers Chathuranga Abeysinghe and Nishantha Jayawera attended, along with MPs Ravi Karunanayake, Ajith Agalakada, Nimal Palihena, Wijesiri Basnayake, Thilina Samarakoon, Champika Hettiarachchi and Attorney-at-Law Lakmali Hemachandra.
Officials from the Ministry of Finance, Sri Lanka Customs, the Department of Trade and Investment Policy, the Department of Import and Export Control, and the Central Bank and its Department of Foreign Exchange also took part.
Parliament’s release, issued on 30 September, says the meeting was held “recently” and does not give a date; Hiru News, which carried the same account on 1 October, does not date it either. LankaNewz has not been able to establish when the committee sat.
