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| Monday, 31 January 2005 |
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R. P. L. Weerasinghe has been appointed as the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue. He succeeds 22 others in the post. Weerasinghe has had a very colourful career in the Inland Revenue Department, having joined it as an (Assistant) Assessor in 1970, after graduating from Vidyodaya University Gangodawila. He worked with distinction in many branches of the Department; in the Investigation and Corporate Tax branches in particular, under the guidance of no less a person than the late Mr. Mithrasena, from who Mr. Weerasinghe won the rare honour of a commendation in superlative terms. In 1985, Mr. Weerasinghe proceeded to (the then) West Germany to follow a Senior Tax Officer's Course in Audit and Investigation and to Nepal in 1988 to participate in a follow-up course. Since then he has taken part in many international seminars and conferences. The single most significant of Weerasinghe's performances where he displayed his organizational and leadership qualities most strikingly, is the setting up of the Large taxpayer Unit in 1993 for the auditing of the largest thousand taxpayers. Mr. Weerasinghe's achievements in this regard were commended by Ms. Jo Beth Merlens (a World Bank tax expert) in her case study of Sri Lanka included in the draft report for pre circulation at the South Asia Foreign Direct Investment Round Table held in Maldives in April 2003. The recently introduced Economy Service Charge (ESC) is a brainchild of Mr. Weerasinghe. He prepared the original draft of the relevant Bill and organized its implementation so efficiently that by December 2004 the revenue collected from the ESC reached, a very encouraging Rs. 4000 million mark. First as the Deputy Commissioner and thereafter as the Commissioner in charge of the Large Taxpayer Unit, Mr. Weerasinghe ventured into new grounds, which most of his predecessors feared to tread, he discussed with the private sector representatives, the pros and cons of proposed administrative measures before they were implemented and thereby won their respect and admiration for his efficiency in administration and transparency of his transactions. Mr. Weerasinghe is well versed in the area of Double Taxation as well. The presentation he made at the CATA conference held in Colombo in 1993 and 1994 on "The Treatment of Head Office Expenses in the Audit of Non-Resident Companies", was highly appreciated by the foreign resource personnel and earned for him a commendation from the Secretary General of CATA. He was a member of the Sri Lanka team at the negotiation of Double Tax Treaties with the United Arab Emirates, Republic of China, South Africa, any many others. The Government and the citizens of the country can justly look forward to the Inland Revenue Department, under the able stewardship of Mr. Weerasinghe becoming a model worthy of being emulated by other government institutions. |
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