Sri Lanka’s Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has achieved around 61% of its 2026 revenue target of Rs 2,402 billion, IRD Commissioner of Tax Policy and Law Nandana Kumar said, speaking on Ada Derana’s BIG FOCUS program.Kumar said that tax revenue collection has increased by around 16% compared to the previous year.

Accordingly, he said the IRD is confident that it will be able to fully achieve the targeted tax revenue for 2026.Meanwhile, he said various measures had been taken during the recent period to expand the tax base. As a result, around 1.2 million individual income tax files have been opened so far, he said.The commissioner pointed out that this figure includes both individuals who registered for tax voluntarily and those who were registered through mandatory registration.The Inland Revenue Department also stated that more than 130,000 companies have so far registered for tax purposes.Speaking further, the commissioner said: “For the year 2026, we were given a target of Rs 2,402 billion. By now, we have collected more than 60% of this revenue. That is 61%. If we compare the revenue collection so far with the previous year, we have collected around 16% more revenue compared to last year. Therefore, we believe that the department has the ability to achieve the targeted revenue for 2026.”

He said there had been a need to expand the number of taxpayers, prompting the Inland Revenue Department to implement various measures. As a result, around 1.2 million individual income tax files have now been opened.

He further added that: “We adopted various approaches for this. One of them was that a number of taxpayers registered voluntarily. Another group was registered through mandatory registration. As a result, when we consider individuals who are registered for the purpose of submitting returns, around 1.2 million, that is, 1.2 million individuals are now registered.”

“More than 130,000 companies have also registered so far. Expanding the tax base for tax payment means that if a taxpayer’s income exceeds the relevant income threshold, they should voluntarily register,” he added.