It was revealed during a recent meeting at the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) that 7,728 cheques to the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) have bounced – the dud cheques have amounted to a staggering Rs.4,097 million by March 21 this year.

COPA Chairman Lasantha Alagiyawanna encouraged accepting bank cheques in order to rectify the situation. He said it was vital to maintain a registry of customers who submitted dud cheques.

The COPE meeting attended by officials of IRD, the Treasury and the Attorney General’s Department was held last Thursday at the parliamentary complex.

It was revealed that the one-time tax of Rs.1,000 million, imposed on casinos, had not been collected properly and that only Rs.1,170 million had been received from four casinos. (Ajith Siriwardana)