VAT slows construction in Sri Lanka

FILE PHOTO: Excavators work on land reclamation at "Colombo Port City" construction site, which is backed by Chinese investment, in Colombo, Sri Lanka October 12, 2016. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte/File Photo

COLOMBO: The cost of construction in Sri Lanka is set to rise with the increase in the country’s value added tax (VAT), say industry experts.

With the VAT increased to 18% and being applied to items that were exempted earlier, construction costs in country have nowhere to go but up, Nissanka N. Wijeratne, secretary-general of the Chamber of Construction Industry of Sri Lanka told The Island Financial Review last Friday.