Ceylon Paper Sacks Limited vs Commissioner General of Inland Revenue – SC APPEAL 53/2014-2023

In the case between Ceylon Paper Sacks Limited and the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, the central issue concerned whether the Appellant was entitled to an exemption from turnover tax under Section 4 of the Turnover Tax Act No. 69 of 1981 by relying on Gazette (Extraordinary) No. 432/03, which exempts “any business for the export of any manufactured or processed article.” It was determined that the Appellant’s business—manufacturing multi-walled paper sacks used by plantation companies for tea packaging—did not constitute a “business for export,” as the sacks were sold locally and not directly exported by the Appellant. The findings relied on statutory interpretation and relevant precedent, including the Perera & Silva Ltd. case, to affirm that the exemption applies only to busines