(Lanka-e-News -17.Oct.2024, 11.30 pm) The Colombo Magistrate’s Court today rejected, for the second time, the request to release on bail Arjun Aloysius, a director of W. M. Mendis & Company, and another individual. They are serving a six-month prison sentence for evading payment of VAT (Value Added Tax) amounting to Rs. 350 million owed to the government between 2016 and 2019.
President’s Counsel Rasik Zarook, representing the defendants, argued that the case had now become a criminal matter, and therefore, they should be released on bail. However, Additional Magistrate Bandara Ilangasinghe rejected this argument, stating that the case was based on a certificate presented by the Department of Inland Revenue. Since the alternative punishment imposed on the defendants does not constitute a criminal case, the bail request was denied.
Responding to the widespread public opinion about whether Arjun Aloysius and others could avoid paying the due taxes after serving their sentence, President’s Counsel Upul Kumarapperuma clarified that this was not the case. He emphasized that even after serving prison time, the due taxes and fines must be paid, and if they fail to do so, their assets could be confiscated by the state to recover the owed amount, as per the law.
Meanwhile, the Colombo business community claims that Arjun Aloysius has been engaged in this fraudulent game for an extended period. They allege that consumers who purchase Mendis arrack or other types of liquor pay the taxes to the government at the time of purchase. However, the owners, like Aloysius, avoid paying the significant sums to the government, instead reinvesting the amount through the purchase of Treasury bills, benefiting from the government itself. Businesspeople assert that Aloysius and his associates are swindlers who embezzle public money.
To understand the magnitude of Arjun Aloysius’s tax evasion, consider that the Rs. 350 million in unpaid taxes from 2016 to 2019 could have been used by the government at the time to provide 183,000 free tablet computers to A-level students in government schools.
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by (2024-10-17 19:14:49)
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