180. Recovery of tax out of debts & c

Official English translation. The Sinhala text prevails. Open the official Sinhala text, official PDF on documents.gov.lk

(1)

Where tax payable by any person is in default and it appears to the Commissioner-General to be probable that any other person—

(a)

owes or is about to pay money to the defaulter or his agent;

(b)

holds money for or on account of the defaulter or his agent;

(c)

holds money on account of some other person for payment to the defaulter or his agent; or

(d)

has authority from some other person to pay money to the defaulter or his agent, the Commissioner-General may give to such other person notice in writing (a copy of which shall be sent by post to the defaulter) requiring him to pay any such moneys not exceeding the amount of the tax in default, to the officer named in such notice. The notice shall apply to all such moneys which are in his hands or due from him at the date of receipt of such notice, or come into his hands or become due from him or are about to be paid by him at any time within a period of three months, after the date of such notice.

(2)

Where a person holds money for or on account of the defaulter and any other person or persons jointly (in this section referred to as the “joint account holder or holder”)

the Commissioner-General may give a notice under subsection (1) to such person, requiring him to pay the amount of the tax in default or part thereof to the officer named in such notice, out of the monies or such part of such moneys in the joint account which the Commissioner-General is satisfied is attributable to the contributions made by the defaulter, and is so certified by the Commissioner-General:

Provided that—

(a)

every person remitting money in compliance with a notice issued under subsection (1), shall intimate such fact to every other joint account holder;

(b)

every joint account holder other than the defaulter may, within two weeks of the date on which he received an intimation under paragraph (a), make a claim to the Commissioner-General in respect of any part of such remittance which represents his net contribution to the balance in such joint account as at the date of notice issued by the Commissioner-General, and the Commissioner-General shall consider such claim and make his order thereon;

(c)

every joint account holder who is aggrieved by the order of the Commissioner-General made under paragraph (b), may institute an action in the District

Court seeking an order for the recovery of such money or part of money which he claims to be attributable to the contributions made by him.

Notwithstanding any provision in the Prescription Ordinance

(Chapter 68), no action shall be instituted for the recovery of such money or part of such money after the expiration of three months from the date of notice issued by the

Commissioner-General.

(3)

Any person who has made any payment in pursuance of this section shall be deemed to have acted under the authority of the defaulter, and of all other persons concerned, and is hereby indemnified in respect of such payment against all proceedings, civil or criminal, notwithstanding the provisions of any written law, contract or agreement.

(4)

Any person to whom a notice has been given under subsection (1), who is unable to comply therewith owing to the fact that the moneys referred to in that subsection do not come into his hands or that no such moneys become due from him within the period referred to in that subsection, shall within fourteen days of expiration thereof, give notice in writing to the Commissioner-General apprising him of the facts.

(5)

Where any person to whom a notice has been given under subsection (1) is unable to comply therewith and has failed to give notice to the Commissioner-General as provided in subsection (4), or where such person has deducted or could have deducted the tax to which the notice relates or any part thereof, and has not paid over as required by the

Commissioner-General the amount of such tax or part thereof within fourteen days after the expiration of the period referred to in subsection (1), such person shall, if he is an individual be liable, or where such person is a company or body of persons whether corporate or unincorporate, the secretary, manager or other principal officer of such company or body shall be personally liable, for the whole of the tax which such person has been required to deduct, and such tax may be recovered from such individual, secretary, manager or other principal officer, as the case may be, by all means provided in this Act.

(6)

For the purposes of this section, the expression

“defaulter” shall be deemed to include the agent of a person who is in default and the provisions of this section shall apply in any case where the tax which would have been payable by any person if he were alive is in default; and for the purposes of the application of those provisions in any such case, the expression “defaulter” in subsection (1) means—

(a)

the executor or administrator of a deceased person;

(b)

any person who takes possession of or intermeddles with, the property of a deceased person; or

(c)

any person who has applied or is entitled to apply to a District Court for the grant or resealing of a probate or letters of administration, in respect of the estate of a deceased person.

Read on from s 181

Chapter XXVII