On 29 December 2015, the Sri Lankan Department of Inland Revenue announced that the value added tax (VAT) changes included in the Budget for 2016 ({News-2015-11-25/P/4- previous coverage}) are effective 1 January 2016. The changes include the replacement of the standard 11% VAT rate with the following rates:

• 12.5% for supplies of services, including financial services;
• 8% for supplies of goods…