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If India is worried about a food crisis – that should send alarm bells blaring in Sri Lanka. We import a lot of food from India; around 250,000 MTs of Bombay Onions, 190,000 MTs of sugar and 45,000 MTs of chillies. In addition to that we import some varieties of rice, chickpeas, green gram, dhal, red onions and other vegetables from India.

Once regarded as a regional success story in human development, even if not in sustained economic growth, Sri Lanka has witnessed many of its hard-earned development gains erode in the wake of the recent economic crisis.

Sri Lanka's GSP+ renewal arrives at a defining moment. The country is emerging from its worst economic crisis in decades while facing an increasingly competitive global trading environment. The India - EU Free Trade Agreement has changed the regional landscape and raised the stakes for Sri Lankan exporters.

This paper has two purposes. One is to summarise the recent changes in tax policy and administration. The second is to sound a mild warning: that the IRD, having previously long been a conservative organisation that had fallen well behind most other countries in reforming its practices and adopting new technologies, is now at some risk of going to the opposite extreme.

Tax Ombudsmen exist in many countries. They are independent officials (or offices) whose role is to help taxpayers resolve disputes with tax authorities – fairly, quickly and without cost. In essence, they are intended to protect taxpayers from unfair treatment at the hands of tax authorities. The basis of the case for Tax Ombudsmen is the understanding that, in many countries, the balance of negotiating power between taxpayers and tax authorities is weighted too much in favo

In early 2023, the Election Commission of Sri Lanka (ECSL) commenced the local government election process by issuing the necessary gazette and accepting nominations.

As US-Iran negotiations reach a critical juncture, here's how Sri Lanka has been affected since the war began.

IMF එකෙන් හම්බවුණ ණය මේ වෙලාවෙ ලංකාවට බලපාන හැටි සහ දැන් වෙද්දි අපිට තිබෙන ආර්ථික ප්‍රශ්න වලට විකල්ප විසඳුම් ගැන අරුත එක්ක කතා කළා.

Sri Lanka's 2022 economic crisis was not merely a result of poor fiscal and monetary policy but also the direct consequence of a deep-rooted, systemic accountability deficit. Termed Sri Lanka's "third deficit" (alongside its chronic budget and trade deficits), this governance failure enabled catastrophic policy decisions, such as the 2019 tax cuts, to proceed without institutional challenge.

Despite many challenges, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has made significant strides in digitalisation.

India’s ban on the export of raw, white and refined sugar affects sugar availability in Sri Lanka. In 2025, India accounted for 50% of Sri Lanka’s 656,381 metric tonnes of sugar imports.

Sri Lanka will face fresh tariff troubles this year with its exports to its top export market - the United States. The United States has proposed a new tariff of up to 12.5% on imports from Sri Lanka and 59 other economies following investigations into whether countries have adequately prohibited imports produced using forced labour.

In a world where over 270 million people live amid conflict zones, the ripple effects reach far beyond borders — reshaping economies, energy security, and everyday lives. What do these global tremors mean for Sri Lanka?

Sri Lanka imports almost 100% of the fertiliser used, so our agriculture sector is highly vulnerable to import and energy price shocks.

In the first issue of Lanka Dispatch, we move beyond quarterly updates on China-Sri Lanka relations to look at something broader: how our island navigates a world that is fragmented and volatile.

Inflationary pressures are building in Sri Lanka as it faces the direct and indirect effects of the US-Israel war on Iran.