Sri Lanka’s three principal revenue-collecting agencies — Sri Lanka Customs, the Inland Revenue Department and the Department of Excise — were placed under direct anti-corruption scrutiny at a high-level review held at the Presidential Secretariat on May 29, the President’s Office said this week.
The meeting was chaired by Secretary to the President Nandika Sanath Kumanayake and examined the functioning of the Internal Affairs Units established within state institutions and the implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Action Plan 2025–2029.
Discussion focused on the measures currently in place to strengthen anti-corruption initiatives and foster a culture of integrity within Customs, the IRD and Excise — the three departments that collect the bulk of state revenue and have historically been most exposed to integrity risks at the operational interface with importers, tax payers and licensed traders.
Attention was also given to future initiatives aimed at reinforcing ethical governance and promoting a stronger culture of integrity across the three organisations, the President’s Office said. Specific outcomes, named officials and timelines were not disclosed in the statement.
The review aligns the revenue agencies with the broader transparency framework the IMF has flagged as essential for Sri Lanka to break out of the middle-income trap, where governance reform and reduced corruption risk are named as preconditions for sustained investor confidence. It also follows the CIABOC’s expanded probe sequence targeting senior figures across the Rajapaksa era.
Source: Newswire.
