Chairman of BOI and cabinet ministers ordered to appear before Court of Appeal

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The Court of Appeal issued a notice today (October 23) to a group of 52 individuals including the Chairman of the board of investment, Minister Malik Samarawickrama, businessman Nandana Lokuwithana, the Attorney General and a number of cabinet ministers, to appear before courts on the 7th of December this year. This was following a petition filed by the Buddhist Information Center, alleging that the BOI failed to adhere to standard practices. The petition was filed in the court of appeal, by the Executive Director of the Buddhist Information Center, Venerable Agulugalle Siri Jinananda thero, on the 17th of October, alleging that the country has been deprived of tax income that could have been earned through the BOI. The petitioners have cited the Horana Tyre factory as an example. According to the petition, during cabinet approval, the value of the Horana tyre project was estimated at USD 75 million by Minister Malik Samarawickrema. However, this value was changed to USD 250 million without any cabinet approval. USD 225 million of the total was categorized as an asset. Accordingly, Rigid tyre Corporation, owned by businessman Nandana Lokuwithana, receives a tax benefit of an estimated USD 567 million or Rs. 87 billion The petition was taken up by Court of Appeal judges Preethi Padman Surasena and Arjuna Obeysekera.