Amadeus Lanka (Private) Limited v. Commissioner General of Inland Revenue – CA TAX/0021/2017-2021

In the case between Lanka Marine Services (Private) Limited and the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, the court addressed whether certain tax determinations relating to the classification of bunker fuel supplies as “exports” were time-barred, and whether exemptions or concessionary rates applied under the Inland Revenue Act and the Tax Appeals Commission Act. It was held that neither the Tax Appeals Commission’s nor the Commissioner General’s determinations were rendered invalid due to procedural timing, and that statutory exemptions or concessionary rates were not established. The principle reaffirmed is that statutory time frames for tax adjudications were directory rather than mandatory, and that the taxpayer bears the evidentiary burden to claim export-related exemptions. This de