Commissioner General of Inland Revenue v. Ranweli Holiday Village Ltd. – CA TAX/033/2019-2021

In the case between the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, Department of Inland Revenue, Colombo 02 (Appellant) and Ranweli Holiday Village Ltd., Colombo 02 (Respondent), the court addressed whether Ranweli Holiday Village Ltd. could claim a Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption on income generated from its Ayurvedic Medical Centre under item (xii) of paragraph (b) of Part II of the First Schedule, read with Section 8 of the VAT Act No. 14 of 2002 (as amended). It was held that VAT exemption is contingent upon the institution or individual meeting the statutory definition of a “medical institution” or a “professionally qualified person.” The principle reaffirmed was that VAT exemptions must be narrowly construed and strictly adhere to statutory requirements regarding the entity providing th