Lanka Marine Services (Private) Limited vs The Commissioner General of Inland Revenue – CA TAX/0012/2017-2021

In the case between Lanka Marine Services (Private) Limited and the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, the court addressed whether adverse tax determinations by the Tax Appeals Commission and the Commissioner-General were time-barred, and whether the supply of bunker fuel to foreign vessels constituted “exports” or “re-exports” for concessionary tax treatment under Sections 42 or 52 of the Inland Revenue Act, No. 10 of 2006. It was held that neither determination was time-barred, and the provision of bunker fuel within Sri Lankan territorial waters did not qualify as “exports” for tax concession purposes. The principle reaffirmed was that “export” for the relevant statutory context requires removal of goods from the country with a foreign destination. This outcome was anchored in a re