People who do not hold a Taxpayer Identification Number can still open bank accounts and renew vehicle revenue licences after the November 1 deadline, the government said on Tuesday, after large crowds overwhelmed the Inland Revenue Department.
Two officials made the same point separately during the day. Cabinet spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said that, taking the current congestion into account, people without a TIN would still be able to open bank accounts and renew vehicle revenue licences after 1 November 2026 by supplying the relevant information, Hiru News reported.
Addressing Parliament, Deputy Minister of Economic Development Nishantha Jayaweera said people could continue their economic activities without a TIN, and could carry out transactions at the relevant institutions by producing a copy of their National Identity Card, a telephone number and an email address where available, the Daily Mirror reported.
“People need not rush to the Department of Inland Revenue to obtain a TIN,” the Deputy Minister said. He added that the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue would issue a statement clarifying the matter soon.
What prompted it
The Daily Mirror reports that a large number of people went to the IRD head office to obtain Taxpayer Identification Numbers, causing severe congestion.
The requirement took effect on 1 November. As this desk reported in September, the Inland Revenue Department had said a valid TIN certificate must be produced for eight categories of transaction from that date, under Act No. 11 of 2026.
What is not yet clear
Neither filing says whether the relaxation is a formal legal change, a temporary administrative concession, or guidance to banks and the Department of Motor Traffic — nor how long it will last. Neither gives a date for the Commissioner General’s promised statement, and neither says whether the easing covers all eight transaction categories or only banking and vehicle revenue licences, the two named.
Readers should treat the arrangement as an interim accommodation until the Inland Revenue Department issues its own notice.
A note on wording. Hiru’s English headline renders the reason as “heavy traffic”. The Sinhala term used is thadabadaya, meaning crowding or congestion — the queues at tax offices, not road traffic. The Daily Mirror’s independent account of “severe congestion” at the IRD head office confirms that reading.