Kahawatte Plantations PLC vs. Commissioner General of Inland Revenue – CA/TAX/17/2022-2025

The appeal by Kahawatte Plantations PLC against the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue regarding a tax assessment for the quarter ending 31 December 2012 was addressed. The dispute centered on whether the supply of albezia trees qualified as unprocessed agricultural products exempt from VAT under the Value Added Tax Act, No. 14 of 2002. The Tax Appeals Commission upheld the Commissioner General’s assessment, rejecting the Appellant’s claim that the tender involved live trees exempt from VAT. The Respondent argued that the trees were intended for timber production.

Based on contractual terms and the precedent set in Lalan Rubber v. Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, it was determined that the supply constituted processed logs. The Appellant’s alternative argument that the supplie