Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act 2026 · As enacted
14. Replacement of section 68 of the principal enactment
Official English translation. Where it differs from the Sinhala or Tamil text, the Act itself says which text prevails.
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
Section 68 of the principal enactment is hereby repealed and the following section is substituted therefor: -
68. (1) The Commissioner-General may investigate any offence under this Act.
The Attorney-General or a delegate authorized by the Attorney-General shall prosecute any person who commits an offence under this Act. Such criminal proceedings shall be initiated in the name of the Commissioner-General.
Proceedings under this Act shall not affect criminal proceedings that may be brought under any other written law.
“Criminal proceedings
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Where, in respect of a single act, omission or course of conduct, a person is convicted for more than one offence under this
Chapter -
the maximum term of imprisonment imposed for the offences shall not exceed a term of five years; and
the person shall not subsequently be prosecuted for additional offences in relation to the same act, omission or course of conduct.
No penalty shall be payable under
Chapter XII in respect of an act, omission or in the course of the conduct by a person where: -
the person has been convicted of an offence under this Act in respect of the same act, omission or course of conduct; or
the offence has been compounded by the Court with the consent of the
Commissioner-General.
Proceedings under this Act may commence where the offence alleged involves: -
the doing of an act, within twelve years from the doing of the act;
the failure to do an act, within twelve years from the date on which the act
Act, No. 14 of 2026
was required to be done, or within three years from the date on which the
Commissioner-General first becomes aware of such failure, whichever occurs prior; or
where the offence alleged involves the non-disclosure or misrepresentation of information relating to a person’s liability to tax, within three years from the date on which the person’s correct tax liability for the relevant taxable period is finally determined under this Act.”.