Sri Lanka’s ODI skipper Charith Asalanka and Test leader Dhananjaya de Silva have submitted a petition to the Court of Appeal, seeking a writ of certiorari to overturn the decision of the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) to impose Withholding Tax on members of the Sri Lanka national cricket team by classifying them as staff of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).
The petition was reviewed today for fact verification before a panel consisting of the Acting Chairman of the Appeals Court, Justice Mohamed Lafar Tahir, and Justice K.P. Fernando.
The court directed that the petition be taken up on March 28 for further verification of the facts.
The Commissioner General of Inland Revenue, its Assistant Commissioner, the Chairman of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), its Executive Committee representatives, the Auditor General, and several others have been listed as respondents in the petition.
The petitioners highlight that after Sri Lanka obtained Test cricket recognition in 1983, formal contracts were signed by national team players with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board following their World Cup victory in 1996.
The petitioners assert that the Executive Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket, during its meeting on January 17, resolved to categorize players competing at the national level under agreements with Sri Lanka Cricket as personnel engaged under contractual terms with the institution.
The petitioners, emphasizing that this resolution is entirely unlawful, argue that national-level players are not contributors to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) or the Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) and do not possess such entitlements.
The petitioners state that they have consulted legal professionals on this issue and have received legal opinions affirming that they are independent service providers to Sri Lanka Cricket rather than its employees.
Under these circumstances, the Inland Revenue Department has resolved to enforce Withholding Tax on them by treating them as SLC employees, which, according to the petitioners, has resulted in significant injustice to national-level cricketers.
Accordingly, the petitioners have urged the Court of Appeal to issue writ orders nullifying the Sri Lanka Cricket Board’s decision to classify national players as SLC employees and the Inland Revenue Department’s ruling to impose Withholding Tax on them.
Additionally, the petitioners have requested an interim injunction to halt the enforcement of the Inland Revenue Department’s decision until the petition is fully heard and a final verdict is issued.
