79. What constitutes residence

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

(1)

Where a company or a body of persons has its registered or principal office in Sri Lanka, or where the control and management of its business are exercised in Sri Lanka, such company or body of persons shall be deemed to be resident in Sri Lanka for the purposes of this Act.

(2)

An individual who is physically present in Sri Lanka for one hundred and eighty three days or more during any year of assessment, shall be deemed to be resident in Sri

Lanka throughout that year of assessment.

(3)

An individual who has been deemed resident for two or more consecutive years of assessment shall be deemed to be resident until such time as he is continuously absent from

Sri Lanka for an unbroken period of three hundred and sixty five days. When such person is so absent, he shall notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (2), be deemed to be non-resident from the commencement of the year of assessment in which such absence commences.

(4)

Where, but for his presence in Sri Lanka for any period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate of thirty days, a person would have been deemed under subsection (3) to have been non-resident, such period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate of thirty days shall be treated as if it or they had been spent by him outside Sri Lanka.

(5)

An individual who is in the employment of the

Government of Sri Lanka and who is resident in any other country during any period for the purposes of such employment and the spouse of such individual shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be resident in Sri Lanka during that period, if income tax or any tax of a similar character is not payable in that country in respect of the official emoluments payable to him for such period:

Provided that any such individual who is a citizen or subject of any country other than Sri Lanka shall not, by reason of his being so deemed to be resident in Sri Lanka, be liable to income tax as a resident in respect of any income, other than his official emoluments or other income arising in or derived from Sri Lanka.

(6)

An individual who is employed in a Sri Lanka ship, within the meaning of the Merchant Shipping Act, shall for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be resident in Sri

Lanka during the period he is so employed:

Provided that where any such individual is a citizen or subject of any country other than Sri Lanka, he shall not, by reason of his being so deemed to be resident in Sri Lanka, be liable to income tax as a resident in respect of any income other than his income from employment in such ship.

(7)

An individual who is not a citizen of Sri Lanka and who is employed in Sri Lanka shall, notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding subsections, be deemed to be non-resident for a period of three years calculated from the date on which he commences employment in Sri Lanka:

Provided that where such individual is an individual employed in a flagship company within the meaning of subsection (2) of section 40 such individual shall be deemed to be non-resident for a period of five years calculated from the date on which he commences employment in Sri Lanka.

F – LIABILITY OF NON-RESIDENT PERSONS

Read on from s 80