Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2016-07-26

Granting tax relief for commercial lands alienated on lease basis in terms of the State Land Ordinance

- When lands are leased out on long term lease for a period of 30 years under the State Land Ordinance, the annual lease amount is calculated based on the market value determined by the Chief Valuer and once in every five years, the said lease amount will be increased by 50%. As such, taking into consideration the difficulties encountered by the small and medium scale entrepreneurs, especially in the Mahaweli areas, due to the exorbitant lease amounts charged in leasing out state lands for commercial purposes, the proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment, to formulate a policy on charging a relevant lease amount based on a concessionary methodology, when leasing out state lands for commercial purposes, was approved by the Cabinet.