Despite over one million individual tax files being registered for the 2023/24 income year, only 106,022 individuals had submitted their tax returns online to the Inland Revenue Department by the final deadline of November 30, according to official data.
Similarly, although more than 120,000 private companies had opened tax files, only 26,821 companies had filed their tax returns by the deadline. Internal sources from the Ministry of Finance also revealed that just 3,834 partnership firms had submitted their tax returns online.
The 2023/24 tax year, which spanned from April 1, 2023, to March 31, 2024, provided taxpayers an extended eight-month window to file their returns. Despite this, compliance remained significantly below expectations.
In a media briefing at the Presidential Media Center on August 26, Saman Shantha, Deputy Commissioner General (Tax Policy, International Affairs, and Legal Affairs) of the Inland Revenue Department, announced that the total number of tax files had reached 1.1 million this year, with 400,000 new Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TINs) issued.
These figures highlight a concerning gap in compliance, underscoring the need for enhanced measures to improve adherence to tax regulations and ensure adequate revenue collection.
