SJB parliamentarian Eran Wickramartna today introduced a private members bill to amend the Special Commodity Levy Act. While introducing the bill, he stated that the finance minister currently has the authority to reduce or increase the levy at his discretion. He stated that this should be given authority.
When presenting the bill, he stated that the parliament should exercise this power under Section 148 of the Constitution.
This is why the auditor general stated that the country suffered a Rs.16 billion loss due to sugar taxes, and by December of that year, the country had suffered a loss of USD 59 million.
He drew a parallel and said it’s like allowing the health minister to import medicine while the NMRA is in place.
He stated that the finance minister’s arbitrary powers should be changed, and he requested that the leader of the house introduce the bill not as a private members bill, but as your bill, because this is the best way to eliminate corruption.
