A public interests litigation activist yesterday filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking a Mandamus Order directing the Bribery Commission to initiate a credible and independent investigation into the abuse of the tax-free permit scheme by 85 Government and Opposition Parliamentarians.
The petition had been filed by attorney-at-law Nagananda Kodituwakku naming the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption Commission which has failed to perform its statutory duty on the plausible complaint made on corruption against Members of Parliament and the Cabinet of Ministers who have patently abused the public office to defraud the government’s tax-revenue for unjust enrichment.The petitioner maintained that selling of permits and defrauding government revenue in this fraud falls within the definition of the offence of corruption under section 70 of the Bribery Act.
The petitioner is seeking a writ in the nature of a writ of mandamus compelling the Bribery Commission to initiate a credible and independent investigation into the plausible complaint made by the petitioner under section 4 of the CIABOC Act No 19 of 1994 against the abuse of the Tax-free permit scheme for improper purpose of unjust enrichment by those who hold public office as MPs and members of the Cabinet of Ministers in the government of the republic of Sri Lanka.
The petitioner stated that in the process of a study conducted into the abuse of tax-free permits offered to MPs, he discovered that the government had been incurring a colossal loss of revenue under the previous Mahinda Rajapaksa regime and a formal complaint was made on December 11, 2014 to the Bribery Commission to initiate an investigation into the matter forthwith.
These losses amounting to over 40 billion rupees a year were evidenced in the content of the first fiscal policy statement made in Parliament on November 20, 2015 by the Finance Minister.
The Finance Minister on May 2, 2016 issuing the Gazette Notification No 1965/2 under section 3C of the Excise (Special Provisions Act No 13 of 1989, empowering the Parliamentary Reforms Ministry secretary to grant total tax exemption to MPs for importation of motor vehicles (up to the value of US$ 62,500 per each vehicle) with no engine capacity or fuel type specified, the petitioner added.
The Finance Minister’s deliberate action has paved the way for the loss of government revenue of over 7 billion rupees and as at December 9, 2016, 85 expensive vehicles have been imported evading the tax component of over 33 million rupees for each vehicle.
Most of the vehicles imported by those who have purchased the permits have been registered with the Department of Motor Traffic first in the name of the permit holder MP and then immediately afterwards transferred in the name of the buyers of the permits.
If not for MP tax-permits every individual who has imported these expensive vehicles should have paid fiscal levies at the rate of 300 percent of the transaction value, the petitioner further added.
The 85 MPs named as respondents for allegedly evading the tax component of over 33 million rupees for each vehicles are Udaya Gammanpila, Sujeewa Senasinghe, Shehan Semasinghe, Ramesh Pathirana, Kanchana Wijesekara, Annamalai Sivasakthi, Nimal Lansa, Pavithra Wanniarachchi, Priyantha Asoka, D. Sitharthan, Mahinda Samarasinghe, Sathasivam Viyalanderan, Mohan Lal Grero, Suddathcharige Premarathna, Hettiarachchige Wijepala, M.A.K.A.K. Mannapperuma, Indika Anuruddha, Somasundaram Senadhirajah, P.K. Thewarapperuma, Priyal Nishantha de Silva, Imran Maharoof, J. Wakkumbura, Sivagnanam Shritharan, Sisira Jayakody, Don Hector Appuhamy, S.C. Muthukumarana, Chamal Rajapaksa, Rohini Kumari Wijeratne, Sudarshani Fernandopulle, S. Sivamohan, D.V. Chanaka Dinushan, Athuraliye Rathana Thera, Lohan Ratwatte, Wimal Weerawansa, Wimalaweera Dissanayake, A.D. Premadasa, Palitha Rangebandara, A.B.U.D. Pathirana, Ranjith Aluwihare, Priyankara Jayaratne, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, Nishantha Muthuhettigamage, Gamini Lokuge, Srinal Maxim de Mel, Kanchana Herath, Chandima Wijesiri, Wasantha Senanayake, Ajith P. Perera, M.L.A.M. Hizbullah, Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, Ghanamuthu Srineshan, Sidney Jayaratne, Vijeyakala Maheswaran, Wasantha Aluwihare, Berugoda Arachchige Vijitha, A. Adaikalanathan, Sanath Nishantha Perera, Nuwan Wijewardena, Sumedha G. Jayasena, Bandula Gunawardena, Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Anuradha Jayaratne, Sarath Fonseka, John Amaratunga, Dilum Amunugama, R. Sampanthan, Vadivel Suresh, R.G. Sriyani Wijewickrema, Prasanna Ranaweera, Lakshman Kiriella, D.M. Swaminathan, Malik Samarawickrema, Nalaka Colonne, M.S. Thowfeek, Arundhika Fernando, Ravi Karunanayake, Ali Zahir Maulana, J.C. Alawathawala, Thenuka Widanagamage, Chandrasiri Gajadera, L.P.J. Seneviratne, Harin Fernando, Chandima Weerakkody.
The petitioner further named the UNP General Secretary as the 91st respondent and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Sri Lanka as the 92nd respondent in the petitioner.