Meanwhile, the President also made a sudden inspection tour at the Narahenpita Special Economic Center at around 7.30 p.m. yesterday.The President’s special attention was directed as to whether the recently given tax relief were reflected in the prices of essential consumer goods.He instructed the Finance Ministry and the Consumer Affairs Authority officials to keep a close watch as to whether the business community and consumers reap the benefits of the tax relief.
The Consumer Affairs Authority in a recent gazette set the maximum price for a kilogramme of rice at Rs 98. However, complaints have been received that rice is being sold at higher prices than the maximum stipulated price at many places.Therefore, the Authority has been instructed to appoint a team to inspect the supply of rice to the market and take measures to release the necessary quantity of rice to the market daily.
“The consumers should be able to purchase essential and other goods for fair prices during the festive season while the farmers should also get good prices since Maha Season for 2019-2020 has already started and its harvest will be in the market from January 2020.“The government has already cut taxes like VAT from 15% to 8% and done away with the Nation Building Tax and similar indirect taxes in order to reduce the Cost of Living while increasing the supply with which a business-friendly atmosphere would be triggered. The relief on economic service charges announced by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka looks to encourage and profit the mill owners and rice sellers as well.
“However, it is notable that the prices of some of the goods have not gone down. These relief measures should be reflected in the prices of food and beverages, building materials and many other goods. Thus, we kindly request the Consumer Affairs Authority to organize meetings with all the suppliers and effectively communicate to them the importance of giving the benefits of the said relief measures to the consumers,” the press release added.