Sri Lanka, Sept. 25 -- The Joint Apparel Association Forum

(JAAF) today reaffirmed its commitment to working with government authorities

as Sri Lanka prepares to remove the Simplified Value Added Tax (SVAT) scheme on

1st October.

While emphasising that the removal

of SVAT is now inevitable, JAAF noted that the industry has been in continuous

dialogue with policymakers on the transition, highlighting potential challenges

and the importance of timely solutions. JAAF is encouraged by the repeated

assurances from the IRD that the systems are ready to do the refunds sooner

than the legally mandated 45 day window but notes that there was no trial done

on this to demonstrate the ability of the same.

Cash flow and supply chain concerns...