Harsha to move Privilege Committee against Finance Ministry officials’ attempt to cover up sugar tax scam

By Saman Indrajith

Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance, Dr. Harsha de Silva, yesterday told Parliament that he plans to move the Privilege Committee against Finance Ministry officials’ attempt to cover up the sugar tax scam.

Dr. de Silva, referring to Monday’s The Island page one lead story, titled ‘Sugar tax scam takes shocking turn: Parliament directive to recover Rs 16 bn disregarded’, said that when Associate Editor of The Island Shamindra Ferdinando made inquiries under the Right to Information Act from the Finance Ministry of the losses incurred by the sugar tax scam, Finance Ministry’s Department of Trade and Investment Policy had stated that there was no such loss.

Holding the Monday’s edition of The Island in his hands, the MP said: “Entire nation knows that there was a sugar tax scam resulting in over Rs 16 billion losses to the government because of changing the taxes to benefit the scammers. The Auditor General had reported this scam to Parliament. It was investigated by the CID and the Bribery Commission. The matter was debated in Parliament committees, including the COPF. It was debated in this House. State Finance Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, too, has spoken in this House for the need of finding a mechanism to recover the losses. Despite all these, the information officer of the Finance Ministry’s Department of Trade and Investment Policy, by the name of D.M.A. Dassnayake says that there were no losses resulting from change of taxes. Who is this information officer? On what grounds he could state that there were no losses. Does it mean that the Treasury need not recover these monies from those responsible for this scam?”

Dr De Silva said that the sugar tax scam had been a reverting topic in the COPF chaired by him and the COPF has strived relentlessly to recover the loss owing to this scam. “This official stance by the Finance Ministry’s Department of Trade and Investment Policy amounts to breach of privileges of many in this House including the COPF. As such I refer this matter to the COPF today, and with the approval of its members I take this to the Parliament’s privilege committee,” Dr. de Silva said.