The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has ordered every business with a daily turnover above Rs. 100,000 to register for Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Social Security Contribution Levy (SSCL) from July 1.
M.G. Karunaratne, Senior Deputy Commissioner of the IRD’s Nuwara Eliya office, set out the requirement at a public taxpayer programme held in Rikillagaskada. He said registration is available online as well as through the department’s regional offices, and that affected businesses would need to complete the process before the start of the new month.
A daily turnover of Rs. 100,000 implies an annualised threshold of roughly Rs. 36 million, broadly in line with the SSCL Amendment Act No. 10 of 2026, which lowered the SSCL registration threshold to Rs. 36 million and pulled large numbers of small and medium retailers into the levy. The VAT threshold has been similarly tightened in successive fiscal cycles.
The directive is the next operational step in the broadening of Sri Lanka’s tax base under the IMF programme. It follows the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Act No. 11 of 2026, which made the Taxpayer Identification Number mandatory across the formal economy, and the IRD’s own admission that some 4 million eligible adults are still yet to obtain a TIN.
Karunaratne did not specify a deadline beyond July 1 for non-compliant businesses or detail any planned penalties. The IRD has previously said online registration via its portal is the fastest route, with regional offices kept open for walk-in support during the registration push.
