Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Economy Pro le of Sri Lanka Doing Business 2018 Indicators (in order of appearance in the document) Starting a business Procedures, time, cost and paid-in minimum capital to start a limited liability company Dealing with construction Procedures, time and cost to complete all formalities to build a warehouse and the quality control and permits safety mechanisms in the construction permitting system Getting electricity Procedures, time and cost to get connected to the electrical grid, the reliability of the electricity supply and the transparency of tariffs Registering property Procedures, time and cost to transfer a property and the quality of the land administration system Getting credit Movable collateral laws and credit information systems Protecting minority investors Minority shareholders’ rights in related-party transactions and in corporate governance Paying taxes Payments, time and total tax rate for a firm to comply with all tax regulations as well as post-filing processes Trading across borders Time and cost to export the product of comparative advantage and import auto parts Enforcing contracts Time and cost to resolve a commercial dispute and the quality of judicial processes Resolving insolvency Time, cost, outcome and recovery rate for a commercial insolvency and the strength of the legal framework for insolvency Labor market regulation Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality About Doing Business The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle. Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local rms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more e cient regulation; o ers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy. In addition, Doing Business o ers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in di erent cities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The rst Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business, also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has bene ted from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world. Page 2   for insolvency Doing Business Labor market 2018 regulation Sri Lanka Flexibility in employment regulation and aspects of job quality About Doing Business The Doing Business project provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies and selected cities at the subnational and regional level. The Doing Business project, launched in 2002, looks at domestic small and medium-size companies and measures the regulations applying to them through their life cycle. Doing Business captures several important dimensions of the regulatory environment as it applies to local rms. It provides quantitative indicators on regulation for starting a business, dealing with construction permits, getting electricity, registering property, getting credit, protecting minority investors, paying taxes, trading across borders, enforcing contracts and resolving insolvency. Doing Business also measures features of labor market regulation. Although Doing Business does not present rankings of economies on the labor market regulation indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business, it does present the data for these indicators. By gathering and analyzing comprehensive quantitative data to compare business regulation environments across economies and over time, Doing Business encourages economies to compete towards more e cient regulation; o ers measurable benchmarks for reform; and serves as a resource for academics, journalists, private sector researchers and others interested in the business climate of each economy. In addition, Doing Business o ers detailed subnational reports, which exhaustively cover business regulation and reform in di erent cities and regions within a nation. These reports provide data on the ease of doing business, rank each location, and recommend reforms to improve performance in each of the indicator areas. Selected cities can compare their business regulations with other cities in the economy or region and with the 190 economies that Doing Business has ranked. The rst Doing Business report, published in 2003, covered 5 indicator sets and 133 economies. This year’s report covers 11 indicator sets and 190 economies. Most indicator sets refer to a case scenario in the largest business city of each economy, except for 11 economies that have a population of more than 100 million as of 2013 (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Russian Federation and the United States) where Doing Business, also collected data for the second largest business city. The data for these 11 economies are a population-weighted average for the 2 largest business cities. The project has bene ted from feedback from governments, academics, practitioners and reviewers. The initial goal remains: to provide an objective basis for understanding and improving the regulatory environment for business around the world. The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. The ranking of 190 economies is determined by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier scores, rounded to two decimals. More about Doing Business (PDF, 5MB) Ease of Doing Business in Region South Asia DB 2018 Rank 190 1 Sri Lanka Income Category Lower middle income 111 Population 21,203,000 DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) GNI Per Capita (US$) 3,780 0 100 58.86 City Covered Colombo DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 60.76: India (Rank: 100) 58.86: Sri Lanka (Rank: 111) 54.42: Maldives (Rank: 136) 53.64: Regional Average (South Asia) 51.65: Pakistan (Rank: 147) Page 3   40.99: Bangladesh (Rank: 177) aggregate distance to frontier scores, rounded to two decimals. More Doingabout 2018 (PDF, Doing Business Business 5MB) Sri Lanka Ease of Doing Business in Region South Asia DB 2018 Rank 190 1 Sri Lanka Income Category Lower middle income 111 Population 21,203,000 DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) GNI Per Capita (US$) 3,780 0 100 58.86 City Covered Colombo DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 60.76: India (Rank: 100) 58.86: Sri Lanka (Rank: 111) 54.42: Maldives (Rank: 136) 53.64: Regional Average (South Asia) 51.65: Pakistan (Rank: 147) 40.99: Bangladesh (Rank: 177) Note: The distance to frontier (DTF) measure shows the distance of each economy to the “frontier,” which represents the best performance observed on each of the indicators across all economies in the Doing Business sample since 2005. An economy’s distance to frontier is re ected on a scale from 0 to 100, where 0 represents the lowest performance and 100 represents the frontier. The ease of doing business ranking ranges from 1 to 190. Rankings on Doing Business topics - Sri Lanka 1 28 43 55 77 76 86 88 82 93 Rank 109 122 136 157 158 165 163 190 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Investors Borders Permits Distance to Frontier (DTF) on Doing Business topics - Sri Lanka 100 87.74 80 73.29 69.33 70.98 63.33 60 53.70 DTF 45.92 44.99 40.00 39.31 40 20 0 Starting Dealing Getting Registering Getting Protecting Paying Trading Enforcing Resolving a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Change:-0.02 Change:0.00 Change:0.00 Investors Change:+0.24 Borders Change:0.00 Change:-1.74 Change:+0.22 Permits Change:0.00 Change:+2.59 Change:+0.02 Starting a Business Page 4   This topic measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement, number of procedures, time and cost for a small- to medium-sized a with Electricity Property Credit Minority Taxes across Contracts Insolvency Business Construction Change:-0.02 Change:0.00 Change:0.00 Investors Change:+0.24 Borders Change:0.00 Change:-1.74 Change:+0.22 Permits Change:0.00 Change:+2.59 Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Change:+0.02 Starting a Business This topic measures the paid-in minimum capital requirement, number of procedures, time and cost for a small- to medium-sized limited liability company to start up and formally operate in economy’s largest business city. To make the data comparable across 190 economies, Doing Business uses a standardized business that is 100% domestically owned, has start-up capital equivalent to 10 times income per capita, engages in general industrial or commercial activities and employs between 10 and 50 people one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. Starting a Business considers two types of local limited liability companies that are identical in all aspects, except that one company is owned by 5 married women and the other by 5 married men. The distance to frontier score for each indicator is the average of the scores obtained for each of the component indicators. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally start and operate a To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions company (number) about the business and the procedures are used. It is assumed that any required information is readily available and that the entrepreneur will pay Pre-registration (for example, name verification no bribes. or reservation, notarization) Registration in economy’s largest business city The business: - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). If there is more than Post-registration (for example, social security one type of limited liability company in the economy, the most common registration, company seal) among domestic rms is chosen. Information on the most common form is Obtaining approval from spouse to start business obtained from incorporation lawyers or the statistical o ce. or leave home to register company - Operates in the economy’s largest business city and the entire o ce Obtaining any gender-specific permission that space is approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet). For 11 can impact company registration, company economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. operations and process of getting national - Is 100% domestically owned and has ve owners, none of whom is a legal identity card entity; and has a start-up capital of 10 times income per capita and has a Time required to complete each procedure turnover of at least 100 times income per capita. (calendar days) - Performs general industrial or commercial activities, such as the production or sale of goods or services to the public. The business does Does not include time spent gathering not perform foreign trade activities and does not handle products subject information to a special tax regime, for example, liquor or tobacco. It does not use Each procedure starts on a separate day (2 heavily polluting production processes. procedures cannot start on the same day) - Leases the commercial plant or o ces and is not a proprietor of real Procedures fully completed online are recorded estate and the amount of the annual lease for the o ce space is equivalent as ½ day to 1 times income per capita. Procedure is considered completed once final - Does not qualify for investment incentives or any special bene ts. document is received - Has at least 10 and up to 50 employees one month after the commencement of operations, all of whom are domestic nationals. No prior contact with officials - Has a company deed 10 pages long. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of The owners: income per capita) - Have reached the legal age of majority. If there is no legal age of majority, Official costs only, no bribes they are assumed to be 30 years old. No professional fees unless services required by - Are sane, competent, in good health and have no criminal record. law or commonly used in practice - Are married and the marriage is monogamous and registered with the authorities. Paid-in minimum capital (% of income per capita) - Where the answer di ers according to the legal system applicable to the Funds deposited in a bank or with third party woman or man in question (as may be the case in economies where there before registration or up to 3 months after is legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to the incorporation majority of the population. Standardized Company Page 5   before registration or up to 3 months after is legal plurality), the answer used will be the one that applies to the incorporation majority of the population. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Standardized Company Legal form Private Limited Liability Company Paid-in minimum capital requirement LKR 0 City Covered Colombo OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Procedure – Men (number) 7 7.9 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand) Time – Men (days) 9 15.4 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand) Cost – Men (% of income per capita) 10.4 21.4 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom) Procedure – Women (number) 7 8.1 4.9 1.00 (New Zealand) Time – Women (days) 9 15.5 8.5 0.50 (New Zealand) Cost – Women (% of income per capita) 10.4 21.4 3.1 0.00 (United Kingdom) Paid-in min. capital (% of income per capita) 0.0 0.2 8.7 0.00 (113 Economies) Figure – Starting a Business in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 89.06: Maldives (Rank: 68) 87.74: Sri Lanka (Rank: 77) 83.27: Regional Average (South Asia) 80.67: Bangladesh (Rank: 131) 78.61: Pakistan (Rank: 142) 75.40: India (Rank: 156) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of starting a business is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Starting a Business in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 9 8 8 7 ost (% of income per capita) 7 6 6 5 Time (days) 5 4 4 3 3 Page 6   2 2 starting a business. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Figure – Starting a Business in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 9 8 8 7 Cost (% of income per capita) 7 6 6 5 Time (days) 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 0 0 1 2 3 4 *5 *6 *7 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a di erent procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below. Details – Starting a Business in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Reserve a unique company name 2 days LKR 2,000 + 15% VAT Agency : Registry of Companies Searching for a unique company name can be done online via the website of the Department of the Registrar of Companies (www.drc.gov.lk), however, the payment for name reservation fee must be done in person at the Department of the Registrar. The fee for name approval and reservation is LKR 2,000 + 15% VAT. The company name reservation is valid for 3 months. 2 The company secretary and director sign a consent 1 day see procedure Agency : Company Secretary details According to Article 221(1) of the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, every company shall have a director and a secretary. The Company Secretary must be hired before incorporation because one of the requirements to incorporate is a consent form that the Company Secretary must sign saying he/she will be the secretary for the newly formed company -- Form 19: Company Secretary Details. The company director must sign Form 18: Company Director Details. There is no speci c fee schedule. The fees vary from rm to rm, and are generally based on a quarterly retainer. The quarterly charges in the region vary between of USD$ 100 - 150 for private companies but some rms may charge up to USD 1000 annual fee for acting as a Company Secretary. LKR Page 7   10,000-15,000 is usually paid per month, so per quarter the amount ranges (http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Starting a Business in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Reserve a unique company name 2 days LKR 2,000 + 15% VAT Agency : Registry of Companies Searching for a unique company name can be done online via the website of the Department of the Registrar of Companies (www.drc.gov.lk), however, the payment for name reservation fee must be done in person at the Department of the Registrar. The fee for name approval and reservation is LKR 2,000 + 15% VAT. The company name reservation is valid for 3 months. 2 The company secretary and director sign a consent 1 day see procedure Agency : Company Secretary details According to Article 221(1) of the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, every company shall have a director and a secretary. The Company Secretary must be hired before incorporation because one of the requirements to incorporate is a consent form that the Company Secretary must sign saying he/she will be the secretary for the newly formed company -- Form 19: Company Secretary Details. The company director must sign Form 18: Company Director Details. There is no speci c fee schedule. The fees vary from rm to rm, and are generally based on a quarterly retainer. The quarterly charges in the region vary between of USD$ 100 - 150 for private companies but some rms may charge up to USD 1000 annual fee for acting as a Company Secretary. LKR 10,000-15,000 is usually paid per month, so per quarter the amount ranges between LKR 30,000 - 45,000. 3 Register at the Department of the Registrar of Companies 2 days LKR 4,000+15%VAT Agency : Registrar of Companies (registration fee for Form 1) plus LKR The company must submit the following documents to the Department of 2,000+15%VAT the Registrar of Companies: (registration fee for each: Form 18, 19 • Form 1 – Registration of a company and the Articles of • Form 18 – Consent and certi cate of director Association) • Form 19 – Consent and certi cate of secretary • One copy of Articles of Association A company may either adopt the standard set of Articles of Association in Table A of the Companies Act of Sri Lanka or draft its own Articles of Association. Professional charges are higher for drafting new Articles of Association than for adopting the standard text. According to the new Companies Act, notaries are no longer required to witness the signing of the articles of association, the common seal is no longer required, and the company no longer needs to notify the registrar Page 8   regarding the particulars of the Principal Directors and the location of the 10,000-15,000 is usually paid per month, so per quarter the amount ranges Doing between BusinessLKR 45,000. 30,000 - Sri 2018 Lanka 3 Register at the Department of the Registrar of Companies 2 days LKR 4,000+15%VAT Agency : Registrar of Companies (registration fee for Form 1) plus LKR The company must submit the following documents to the Department of 2,000+15%VAT the Registrar of Companies: (registration fee for each: Form 18, 19 • Form 1 – Registration of a company and the Articles of • Form 18 – Consent and certi cate of director Association) • Form 19 – Consent and certi cate of secretary • One copy of Articles of Association A company may either adopt the standard set of Articles of Association in Table A of the Companies Act of Sri Lanka or draft its own Articles of Association. Professional charges are higher for drafting new Articles of Association than for adopting the standard text. According to the new Companies Act, notaries are no longer required to witness the signing of the articles of association, the common seal is no longer required, and the company no longer needs to notify the registrar regarding the particulars of the Principal Directors and the location of the registered o ce within 14 days of incorporation. Registrar of Companies charges the following registration fees: - LKR 4,000 for Form 1; - LKR 2,000 for Form 18; - LRK 2,000 for Form 19; and - LRK 2,000 for the Articles of Association. All fees are subject to 15% VAT. The Certi cate of Incorporation is typically received in about 2 days. 4 Give public notice of incorporation 3 days LKR 7,000 Agency : Daily Newspapers and Government Publication Bureau According to Section 9 of Sri Lanka’s Companies Act No. 7 of 2007 and section 3(a) of the Gazette Notice No. 1566/32 dated 12/09.2008 public notice must be given within 60 days of the incorporation of a company. The notice of incorporation specifying the name of the company, registration number, date of incorporation, and address of the registered o ce should be published in the Government Gazette and in any daily newspaper in three languages: English, Sinhala and Tamil. The proof of publication should then be led with the Registrar of Companies. The newspaper publications once handed over with the payment which depends on the size of the Notice, will appear within 3-4 days. The publication in the Gazette will appear within 2 weeks of submitting the request with the payment. The Registrar of Companies accepts a copy of the receipt issued by the Government Printer as proof of publication. Page 9   All fees are subject to 15% VAT. The Certi cate of Incorporation is typically Doing received Business 2018 2 days. in about Sri Lanka 4 Give public notice of incorporation 3 days LKR 7,000 Agency : Daily Newspapers and Government Publication Bureau According to Section 9 of Sri Lanka’s Companies Act No. 7 of 2007 and section 3(a) of the Gazette Notice No. 1566/32 dated 12/09.2008 public notice must be given within 60 days of the incorporation of a company. The notice of incorporation specifying the name of the company, registration number, date of incorporation, and address of the registered o ce should be published in the Government Gazette and in any daily newspaper in three languages: English, Sinhala and Tamil. The proof of publication should then be led with the Registrar of Companies. The newspaper publications once handed over with the payment which depends on the size of the Notice, will appear within 3-4 days. The publication in the Gazette will appear within 2 weeks of submitting the request with the payment. The Registrar of Companies accepts a copy of the receipt issued by the Government Printer as proof of publication. 5 Register with the tax authorities and obtain a Tax Identi cation 1 day no charge Number (TIN) from Taxpayer Services Unit of Inland Revenue (simultaneous with Department previous Agency : Department of Inland Revenue procedure) The applicant or an authorized representative of the applicant must be physically present at the Taxpayer Services Unit of Inland Revenue Department to pick up and complete the application for a Taxpayer Identi cation Number (TIN) number with supporting documents including a copy of Form 1, Certi cate of Incorporation and Articles of Association. TIN registration application can be submitted online through the RAMIS system. However, this method was only recently introduced and is not yet widely used. 6 Register for VAT with the Inland Revenue Department VAT Registration 1 day no charge Branch (simultaneous with Agency : Department of Inland Revenue previous procedure) To obtain permanent VAT registration, the applicant must submit documents proving turnover of LKR 3,000,000 per quarter or LKR 12,000,000 per year according to the Value Added Tax Act No. 14 of 2002. VAT registration application can be submitted online through the RAMIS system. However, this method was only recently introduced and is not yet widely used. On November 1, 2016 the general rate of VAT was increased to 15%, from previous 11%. 7 Register with the Department of Labor and obtain the EPF number 1 day no charge Agency : Department of Labour and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (simultaneous with previous Companies must register with the Department of Labor to obtain the procedure) Employees Provident Fund (EPF) registration number. The fund is a government-owned and maintained by the Central Bank. No separate registration is required to register with the Employees Trust Fund (ETF). ETF uses the same EPF number for their monthly contributions. Companies must also pay gratuities to employees that have been employed for more than 5 years. The gratuity provisions do not apply to companies that have fewer than 15 employees. There is no pension scheme for private sector employees. Businesses that engage in activities of a dangerous nature should obtain special Factories Ordinance checkups. Page 10   On November 1, 2016 the general rate of VAT was increased to 15%, from Doing previous Business 11%. 2018 Sri Lanka 7 Register with the Department of Labor and obtain the EPF number 1 day no charge Agency : Department of Labour and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (simultaneous with previous Companies must register with the Department of Labor to obtain the procedure) Employees Provident Fund (EPF) registration number. The fund is a government-owned and maintained by the Central Bank. No separate registration is required to register with the Employees Trust Fund (ETF). ETF uses the same EPF number for their monthly contributions. Companies must also pay gratuities to employees that have been employed for more than 5 years. The gratuity provisions do not apply to companies that have fewer than 15 employees. There is no pension scheme for private sector employees. Businesses that engage in activities of a dangerous nature should obtain special Factories Ordinance checkups. Applies to women only. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Dealing with Construction Permits This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required noti cations, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certi cation requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction company, the warehouse project and the utility Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining connections are used. all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates The construction company (BuildCo): Submitting all required notifications and - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the receiving all necessary inspections economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. Obtaining utility connections for water and - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has ve owners, none of whom sewerage is a legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both Registering and selling the warehouse after its registered with the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is completion not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed Time required to complete each procedure experts, such as geological or topographical experts. (calendar days) - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its completion. Does not include time spent gathering information The warehouse: Each procedure starts on a separate day— - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or though procedures that can be fully completed stationery. online are an exception to this rule - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of Procedure is considered completed once final approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each oor will document is received be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of No prior contact with officials approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a warehouse value) licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as Official costs only, no bribes obtaining further documentation or getting prior approvals from external Building quality control index (0-15) agencies, these are counted as procedures. Page 11   - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative Sum of the scores of six component indices: Applies to women only. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Dealing with Construction Permits This topic tracks the procedures, time and cost to build a warehouse—including obtaining necessary the licenses and permits, submitting all required noti cations, requesting and receiving all necessary inspections and obtaining utility connections. In addition, the Dealing with Construction Permits indicator measures the building quality control index, evaluating the quality of building regulations, the strength of quality control and safety mechanisms, liability and insurance regimes, and professional certi cation requirements. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally build a warehouse (number) To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions about the construction company, the warehouse project and the utility Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining connections are used. all necessary clearances, licenses, permits and certificates The construction company (BuildCo): Submitting all required notifications and - Is a limited liability company (or its legal equivalent) and operates in the receiving all necessary inspections economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. Obtaining utility connections for water and - Is 100% domestically and privately owned; has ve owners, none of whom sewerage is a legal entity. Has a licensed architect and a licensed engineer, both Registering and selling the warehouse after its registered with the local association of architects or engineers. BuildCo is completion not assumed to have any other employees who are technical or licensed Time required to complete each procedure experts, such as geological or topographical experts. (calendar days) - Owns the land on which the warehouse will be built and will sell the warehouse upon its completion. Does not include time spent gathering information The warehouse: Each procedure starts on a separate day— - Will be used for general storage activities, such as storage of books or though procedures that can be fully completed stationery. online are an exception to this rule - Will have two stories, both above ground, with a total constructed area of Procedure is considered completed once final approximately 1,300.6 square meters (14,000 square feet). Each oor will document is received be 3 meters (9 feet, 10 inches) high and will be located on a land plot of No prior contact with officials approximately 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) that is 100% owned by BuildCo, and the warehouse is valued at 50 times income per capita. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Will have complete architectural and technical plans prepared by a warehouse value) licensed architect. If preparation of the plans requires such steps as Official costs only, no bribes obtaining further documentation or getting prior approvals from external Building quality control index (0-15) agencies, these are counted as procedures. - Will take 30 weeks to construct (excluding all delays due to administrative Sum of the scores of six component indices: and regulatory requirements). Quality of building regulations (0-2) The water and sewerage connections: Quality control before construction (0-1) - Will be 150 meters (492 feet) from the existing water source and sewer Quality control during construction (0-3) tap. If there is no water delivery infrastructure in the economy, a borehole Quality control after construction (0-3) will be dug. If there is no sewerage infrastructure, a septic tank in the smallest size available will be installed or built. Liability and insurance regimes (0-2) - Will have an average water use of 662 liters (175 gallons) a day and an Professional certifications (0-4) average wastewater ow of 568 liters (150 gallons) a day. Will have a peak water use of 1,325 liters (350 gallons) a day and a peak wastewater ow of 1,136 liters (300 gallons) a day. - Will have a constant level of water demand and wastewater ow throughout the year; will be 1 inch in diameter for the water connection and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Standardized Warehouse Page 12   and 4 inches in diameter for the sewerage connection. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Standardized Warehouse Estimated value of warehouse LKR 27,146,119.40 City Covered Colombo OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Procedures (number) 13 16.0 12.5 7.00 (Denmark) Time (days) 115 193.9 154.6 27.5 (Korea, Rep.) Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.3 17.6 1.6 0.10 (5 Economies) Building quality control index (0-15) 5.5 8.7 11.4 15.00 (3 Economies) Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 72.87: Maldives (Rank: 54) 69.33: Sri Lanka (Rank: 76) 61.97: Bangladesh (Rank: 130) 59.72: Pakistan (Rank: 141) 56.21: Regional Average (South Asia) 38.80: India (Rank: 181) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of dealing with construction permits is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for dealing with construction permits. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 0.16 100 0.14 Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.12 80 0.1 Time (days) 60 0.08 0.06 40 0.04 20 0.02 0 0 1 *2 *3 4 5 6 7 *8 9 10 11 12 13 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Page 13   component indicators. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 0.16 100 0.14 Cost (% of warehouse value) 0.12 80 0.1 Time (days) 60 0.08 0.06 40 0.04 20 0.02 0 0 1 *2 *3 4 5 6 7 *8 9 10 11 12 13 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a di erent procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below. Figure – Dealing with Construction Permits in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 14 12.0 12 11.5 10.0 10 8.7 Index score 8 7.0 6 5.5 4 2 0 Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Request and obtain a proof of ownership from the Colombo Municipal 14 days LKR 1,100 Council Agency : Colombo Municipal Council It is mandatory to obtain and submit a proof of ownership when applying for a building permit. The lawyer completes the application form and apply for a proof of ownership at the Colombo Municipal Council – Municipal Assessor. This proof of ownership must not be more than 6 months old. 2 Receive on-site inspection from Fire Service Department and obtain re 14 days no charge safety clearance for proposed building Agency : Fire Service Department of the CMC Page 14   Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Request and obtain a proof of ownership from the Colombo Municipal 14 days LKR 1,100 Council Agency : Colombo Municipal Council It is mandatory to obtain and submit a proof of ownership when applying for a building permit. The lawyer completes the application form and apply for a proof of ownership at the Colombo Municipal Council – Municipal Assessor. This proof of ownership must not be more than 6 months old. 2 Receive on-site inspection from Fire Service Department and obtain re 14 days no charge safety clearance for proposed building Agency : Fire Service Department of the CMC The Fire Service Department will carry out the inspection when the relevant department of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) sends the plan. The Fire O cers of the Fire Service Department will carry out a study of the plan and then may conduct a re inspection and issue re safety clearance. It takes 10 working days to obtain a re inspection. 3 Request and receive water sanction inspection and sewage inspection 1 day LKR 204 Agency : National Water Supply & Drainage Board The following documents must be submitted to obtain a drainage certi cate: • The prescribed application form, signed in duplicate • Six copies of the approved building plan • The water and drainage plans • Two copies of the building permit • A copy of the water sanction All applications for drainage certi cates must be submitted by a contractor registered with the local authority, and the drainage connection should be carried out by such contractor. 4 Obtain the water sanction and the drainage certi cate from the 7 days LKR 21,420 National Water Supply & Drainage Board Agency : National Water Supply & Drainage Board 5 Submit building permit application to Urban Development Authority 1 day no charge (UDA) Agency : Urban Development Authority (UDA) Once the proof of ownership has been obtained, BuildCo, can submit the application to obtain a building permit along with all the building plans and other documents. The Urban Development Authority will proceed with a site inspection to verify the location. 6 Receive on-site inspection from the Urban Development Authority (UDA) 1 day no charge Agency : Urban Development Authority (UDA) The applicant normally provides transportation or is responsible for the cost of a taxi or a trishaw. The cost depends on the location, but does not normally exceed USD 10.00. 7 Obtain building permit from the Urban Development Authority (UDA) 14 days LKR 38,150 Page 15   The Urban Development Authority will proceed with a site inspection to Doing verify the location. Business 2018 Sri Lanka 6 Receive on-site inspection from the Urban Development Authority (UDA) 1 day no charge Agency : Urban Development Authority (UDA) The applicant normally provides transportation or is responsible for the cost of a taxi or a trishaw. The cost depends on the location, but does not normally exceed USD 10.00. 7 Obtain building permit from the Urban Development Authority (UDA) 14 days LKR 38,150 Agency : Urban Development Authority (UDA) An application for a building permit must be submitted along with ve copies of the building plan. The following documents must be submitted • The water clearance from National Water Supply & Drainage Board • The Drainage Clearance from Water Supply & Drainage Division of relevant Local Authority • The Fire Service Department of the UDA issues the re report with or without conditions • The Building Department of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) issues the street line certi cation. An on-site inspection is conducted by an area inspector of the UDA and a report is prepared based on the investigations. • The Area Inspector’s report is assessed by an O cer in Charge, Planning O cer or Building Engineer, and presented to the Planning Committee with comments and recommendations • The Planning Committee may approve the building plan and grant the development permit with or without conditions • The street/building lines must be demarcated on the ground, before the commencement of construction The building permit application form costs LKR 150.00. If the oor area is more than 3,500 square feet, the application should be certi ed by an architect and a chartered engineer. The following documents are needed: • A certi cate from a quali ed civil structural engineer regarding the design, supervision, and structural stability of the proposed development in order to ensure that no damage would be caused to adjoining properties • An insurance policy and a letter of indemnity 8 Request and receive on-site inspection by re inspector of Fire Service 1 day no charge Department of CMC Agency : Fire Service Department of the CMC 9 Request and receive nal inspection by Area Inspector of the Planning 1 day no charge Department of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) Agency : Planning Division of the UDA 10 Obtain certi cate of conformity from the Urban Development Authority 42 days LKR 699 (UDA) Agency : Urban Development Authority (UDA) The application to obtain a certi cate of conformity must be signed by the owner(s) and a quali ed person. The certi cate of conformity is issued only under the names of the owners. To obtain a certi cate of conformity, an application must be submitted with the following documents: • Water sanction • Drainage certi cate • Approved building plan: the building plan should be strictly in compliance with the Building Regulations of the Urban Development Authority Act Page 16   • On-site inspection by an Area Inspector of the Planning Department of the Department of the Urban Development Authority (UDA) Agency : Planning Division of the UDA Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka 10 Obtain certi cate of conformity from the Urban Development Authority 42 days LKR 699 (UDA) Agency : Urban Development Authority (UDA) The application to obtain a certi cate of conformity must be signed by the owner(s) and a quali ed person. The certi cate of conformity is issued only under the names of the owners. To obtain a certi cate of conformity, an application must be submitted with the following documents: • Water sanction • Drainage certi cate • Approved building plan: the building plan should be strictly in compliance with the Building Regulations of the Urban Development Authority Act • On-site inspection by an Area Inspector of the Planning Department of the CMC to ensure that construction has been completed according to the approved plan • On-site inspection by a re inspector. The inspector’s report is then assessed by a technical sta assistant and by an O cer in Charge, Planning O cer or Building Engineer, and presented to the Planning Committee • A certi cate approving the mechanical ventilation system by private air- conditioning engineers (working for AC suppliers) • Any other certi cates mentioned in the building permit 11 Apply for water connection from National Water Supply and Drainage 1 day no charge Board Agency : National Water Supply and Drainage Board To obtain the water connection, BuildCo must submit an application to the National Water Supply and Drainage Board, an assessment notice, the title deed and an ownership certi cate. After that, BuildCo receives an on-site inspection, pays the water installation costs, and signs an agreement with the Board. 12 Receive on-site inspection by inspector from National Water Supply and 1 day no charge Drainage Board Agency : National Water Supply and Drainage Board 13 Obtain water connection 32 days LKR 31,000 Agency : National Water Supply and Drainage Board Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Score Building quality control index (0-15) 5.5 Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 1.5 How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Free of charge; In 0.5 o cial gazette; Not easily accessible. Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly speci ed in the building List of required 1.0 regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees to be paid; Page 17   Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Dealing with Construction Permits in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Score Building quality control index (0-15) 5.5 Quality of building regulations index (0-2) 1.5 How accessible are building laws and regulations in your economy? (0-1) Free of charge; In 0.5 o cial gazette; Not easily accessible. Which requirements for obtaining a building permit are clearly speci ed in the building List of required 1.0 regulations or on any accessible website, brochure or pamphlet? (0-1) documents; Fees to be paid; Required preapprovals. Quality control before construction index (0-1) 0.0 Which third-party entities are required by law to verify that the building plans are in By law, there is 0.0 compliance with existing building regulations? (0-1) no need to verify plans compliance; Civil servant reviews plans. Quality control during construction index (0-3) 1.0 What types of inspections (if any) are required by law to be carried out during Inspections by 1.0 construction? (0-2) in-house engineer. Do legally mandated inspections occur in practice during construction? (0-1) Mandatory 0.0 inspections are not always done in practice during construction. Quality control after construction index (0-3) 3.0 Is there a nal inspection required by law to verify that the building was built in Yes, nal 2.0 accordance with the approved plans and regulations? (0-2) inspection is done by government agency. Do legally mandated nal inspections occur in practice? (0-1) Final inspection 1.0 always occurs in practice. Liability and insurance regimes index (0-2) 0.0 Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural aws or problems in the No party is held 0.0 building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) liable under the law. Page 18   Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover No party is 0.0 Liability Doing 2018 regimes and insurance Business index (0-2) Sri Lanka 0.0 Which parties (if any) are held liable by law for structural aws or problems in the No party is held 0.0 building once it is in use (Latent Defect Liability or Decennial Liability)? (0-1) liable under the law. Which parties (if any) are required by law to obtain an insurance policy to cover No party is 0.0 possible structural aws or problems in the building once it is in use (Latent Defect required by law Liability Insurance or Decennial Insurance)? (0-1) to obtain insurance . Professional certi cations index (0-4) 0.0 What are the quali cation requirements for the professional responsible for verifying Being a 0.0 that the architectural plans or drawings are in compliance with existing building registered regulations? (0-2) architect or engineer. What are the quali cation requirements for the professional who supervises the Being a 0.0 construction on the ground? (0-2) registered architect or engineer. Getting Electricity This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tari s index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tari s and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions are (number) used. Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The warehouse: all necessary clearances and permits - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods. Completing all required notifications and - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the receiving all necessary inspections data are also collected for the second largest business city. Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is purchasing material for these works in an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not Concluding any necessary supply contract and near a railway. obtaining final supply - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the rst time. Time required to complete each procedure - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square (calendar days) meters (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 Is at least 1 calendar day square meters (10,000 square feet). Each procedure starts on a separate day Does not include time spent gathering The electricity connection: information - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, Reflects the time spent in practice, with little when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW). follow-up and no prior contact with officials - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or Cost required to complete each procedure (% of medium-voltage distribution network and is either overhead or income per capita) underground, whichever is more common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10- Official costs only, no bribes meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all carried out Value added tax excluded on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property Page 19   The reliability of supply and transparency of because the warehouse has access to a road. architect or engineer. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Getting Electricity This topic measures the procedures, time and cost required for a business to obtain a permanent electricity connection for a newly constructed warehouse. Additionally, the reliability of supply and transparency of tari s index measures reliability of supply, transparency of tari s and the price of electricity. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to obtain an electricity connection To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions are (number) used. Submitting all relevant documents and obtaining The warehouse: all necessary clearances and permits - Is owned by a local entrepreneur and is used for storage of goods. Completing all required notifications and - Is located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the receiving all necessary inspections data are also collected for the second largest business city. Obtaining external installation works and possibly - Is located in an area where similar warehouses are typically located and is purchasing material for these works in an area with no physical constraints. For example, the property is not Concluding any necessary supply contract and near a railway. obtaining final supply - Is a new construction and is being connected to electricity for the rst time. Time required to complete each procedure - Has two stories with a total surface area of approximately 1,300.6 square (calendar days) meters (14,000 square feet). The plot of land on which it is built is 929 Is at least 1 calendar day square meters (10,000 square feet). Each procedure starts on a separate day Does not include time spent gathering The electricity connection: information - Is a permanent one with a three-phase, four-wire Y connection with a subscribed capacity of 140-kilo-volt-ampere (kVA) with a power factor of 1, Reflects the time spent in practice, with little when 1 kVA = 1 kilowatt (kW). follow-up and no prior contact with officials - Has a length of 150 meters. The connection is to either the low- or Cost required to complete each procedure (% of medium-voltage distribution network and is either overhead or income per capita) underground, whichever is more common in the area where the warehouse is located and requires works that involve the crossing of a 10- Official costs only, no bribes meter road (such as by excavation or overhead lines) but are all carried out Value added tax excluded on public land. There is no crossing of other owners’ private property The reliability of supply and transparency of because the warehouse has access to a road. tari s index (0-8) - Does not require work to install the internal wiring of the warehouse. This has already been completed up to and including the customer’s service Duration and frequency of power outages (0–3) panel or switchboard and the meter base. Tools to monitor power outages (0–1) Tools to restore power supply (0–1) The monthly consumption: Regulatory monitoring of utilities’ performance - It is assumed that the warehouse operates 30 days a month from 9:00 (0–1) a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (8 hours a day), with equipment utilized at 80% of capacity Financial deterrents limiting outages (0–1) on average and that there are no electricity cuts (assumed for simplicity reasons) and the monthly energy consumption is 26,880 kilowatt-hours Transparency and accessibility of tariffs (0–1) (kWh); hourly consumption is 112 kWh. Price of electricity (cents per kilowatt-hour)* - If multiple electricity suppliers exist, the warehouse is served by the Price based on monthly bill for commercial cheapest supplier. warehouse in case study - Tari s e ective in March of the current year are used for calculation of the price of electricity for the warehouse. Although March has 31 days, for * N o t e : Doing Business m e a s u r e s t h e p r i c e o f calculation purposes only 30 days are used. electricity, but it is not included in the distance to frontier score nor the ranking on the ease of getting electricity. Page 20   Standardized Connection frontier score nor the ranking on the ease of getting electricity. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Standardized Connection Price of electricity (US cents per kWh) 20.1 Name of utility Ceylon Electricity Board City Covered Colombo OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Procedures (number) 5 5.7 4.7 2 (United Arab Emirates) Time (days) 100 136.4 79.1 10 (United Arab Emirates) Cost (% of income per capita) 777 1163.2 63.0 0.00 (Japan) Reliability of supply and transparency of tariff 5 2.1 7.4 8.00 (28 Economies) index (0-8) Figure – Getting Electricity in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 85.21: India (Rank: 29) 70.98: Sri Lanka (Rank: 93) 56.52: Regional Average (South Asia) 53.69: Maldives (Rank: 143) 42.39: Pakistan (Rank: 167) 16.97: Bangladesh (Rank: 185) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting electricity is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Getting Electricity in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 100 800 700 80 Cost (% of income per capita) 600 500 Time (days) 60 400 40 300 200 20 Page 21   100 getting electricity. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Figure – Getting Electricity in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 100 800 700 80 Cost (% of income per capita) 600 500 Time (days) 60 400 40 300 200 20 100 0 0 1 2 *3 4 5 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a di erent procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below. Figure – Getting Electricity in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 8 7 7 6 5 Index score 5 4 3 2.1 2 1 0 0 0 0 Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Details – Getting Electricity in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Submit application to Ceylon Electricity Board and await external site 4 calendar days LKR 2,000 inspection Agency : Ceylon Electricity Board An application should be submitted to the City O ce of Ceylon Electricity Board, together with the following documents. These documents need not be notarized. (i) A copy of the approved Building Plan; (ii) Documentary evidence to establish the street address/assessment number allotted to the property by the Colombo Municipal Council (e.g. - Certi cate of ownership, Statutory Notice of Assessment for the current year, Non-vesting certi cate or a letter issued by the CMC); and (iii) a copy of the certi cate of incorporation to identify the customer. Once the documents are checked Page 22   and accepted, the applicant is provided with an appointment for the site Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Getting Electricity in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Submit application to Ceylon Electricity Board and await external site 4 calendar days LKR 2,000 inspection Agency : Ceylon Electricity Board An application should be submitted to the City O ce of Ceylon Electricity Board, together with the following documents. These documents need not be notarized. (i) A copy of the approved Building Plan; (ii) Documentary evidence to establish the street address/assessment number allotted to the property by the Colombo Municipal Council (e.g. - Certi cate of ownership, Statutory Notice of Assessment for the current year, Non-vesting certi cate or a letter issued by the CMC); and (iii) a copy of the certi cate of incorporation to identify the customer. Once the documents are checked and accepted, the applicant is provided with an appointment for the site visit. 2 Receive site inspection and estimate from Ceylon Electricity Board 25 calendar days LKR 0 Agency : Ceylon Electricity Board CEB o cials make site visit to ascertain the possible route/s for the connection cable/s, length/s of possible rout/e, point/s of connection to the medium voltage network of Colombo City; as well as to decide upon the network improvements required to make available the power capacity at the proposed point/s of network of network, to nalize the substation kiosk location and to make measurements and any other details for the kiosk. CEB o cials then design the proposal for the connection and the detailed design of the substation kiosk. The quotation provided by CEB includes a) all further costs payable to CEB; b) any other requirements to be ful lled such as Chartered Engineer’s certi cate and the speci cations and the drawing of the kiosk is sent out to the applicant by post or handed over if he calls over to collect it. 3 Request and receive installation test certi cate from chartered electrical 1 calendar day LKR 15,000 engineer Agency : Chartered Electrical Engineer Applicant has to pay for the Charted Electrical Engineers as follows; > 150kVA - LKR 10,000 - 15,000 < 150kVA - LKR 15,000 - 25,000 This inspection is carried out by a Chartered Electrical Engineer, who is registered with the City O ce of CEB. Request for the inspection could be made by phone. 4 Obtain excavation permit 8 calendar days LKR 457,025 Agency : Colombo Municipal Council Ceylon Electricity Board gives the customer an excavation sketch which needs to be provided by the customer to Central Road Maintenance Unit (CRMU) of the Colombo Municipal Council. The CRMU will examine the same and if necessary visit the site and provide an estimated reinstatement cost which will be the cost of the excavation permit. The cost of the excavation permit will depend on the type of paving on the road or foot path that has to be excavated to lay the underground cabling and that must be therefore reinstated. Page 23   registered with the City O ce of CEB. Request for the inspection could be Doing made by phone. Business 2018 Sri Lanka 4 Obtain excavation permit 8 calendar days LKR 457,025 Agency : Colombo Municipal Council Ceylon Electricity Board gives the customer an excavation sketch which needs to be provided by the customer to Central Road Maintenance Unit (CRMU) of the Colombo Municipal Council. The CRMU will examine the same and if necessary visit the site and provide an estimated reinstatement cost which will be the cost of the excavation permit. The cost of the excavation permit will depend on the type of paving on the road or foot path that has to be excavated to lay the underground cabling and that must be therefore reinstated. 5 Ceylon Electricity Board carries out laying of cables, installation of 63 calendar days LKR 3,744,508.99 switchgears and equipment and commission of electricity Agency : Ceylon Electricity Board Once the estimate is paid, the utility applies for the road excavation permit from the Colombo Municipal Council/Road Development Authority. Labor costs are charged by the RDA/CMC for reinstatement of excavation. Construction cost is essentially for construction of sub-station. This amount has to be submitted to the CEB. Approved building plan from CMC is su cient from applicant's side. But CEB has to get approval from following institutes (before cable laying);- Presidential Security Division; Tra c Police; Sri Lanka Police; Colombo Municipal Council. All the material needed for the external connection is provided by the CEB. Meter is installed by the Construction Unit of the CEB and at the same time the connection is provided by the Area Unit of the CEB. Prior to the connection, the applicant should enter into an Agreement with the CEB for supply of electricity. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Details – Getting Electricity in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Reliability of supply and transparency of tari index (0-8) 5 Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 2 System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 2.8 System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 2.7 What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 5.0 Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 0 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? No Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 1 Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on Yes Page 24   Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Getting Electricity in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Reliability of supply and transparency of tari index (0-8) 5 Total duration and frequency of outages per customer a year (0-3) 2 System average interruption duration index (SAIDI) 2.8 System average interruption frequency index (SAIFI) 2.7 What is the minimum outage time (in minutes) that the utility considers for the calculation of SAIDI/SAIFI 5.0 Mechanisms for monitoring outages (0-1) 0 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to monitor outages? No Mechanisms for restoring service (0-1) 1 Does the distribution utility use automated tools to restore service? Yes Regulatory monitoring (0-1) 1 Does a regulator—that is, an entity separate from the utility—monitor the utility’s performance on Yes reliability of supply? Financial deterrents aimed at limiting outages (0-1) 0 Does the utility either pay compensation to customers or face nes by the regulator (or both) if outages No exceed a certain cap? Communication of tari s and tari changes (0-1) 1 Are e ective tari s available online? Yes Link to the website, if available online http://www.ceb.lk/su b/business/tp_gener alpurpose.html Are customers noti ed of a change in tari ahead of the billing cycle? Yes Note: If the duration and frequency of outages is 100 or less, the economy is eligible to score on the Reliability of supply and transparency of tari index. If the duration and frequency of outages is not available, or is over 100, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. Registering Property This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has ve dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. Page 25   What the indicators measure Case study assumptions If the minimum outage time considered for SAIDI/SAIFI is over 5 minutes, the economy is not eligible to score on the index. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Registering Property This topic examines the steps, time and cost involved in registering property, assuming a standardized case of an entrepreneur who wants to purchase land and a building that is already registered and free of title dispute. In addition, the topic also measures the quality of the land administration system in each economy. The quality of land administration index has ve dimensions: reliability of infrastructure, transparency of information, geographic coverage, land dispute resolution, and equal access to property rights. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Procedures to legally transfer title on immovable To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions property (number) about the parties to the transaction, the property and the procedures are used. Preregistration procedures (for example, checking for liens, notarizing sales agreement, The parties (buyer and seller): paying property transfer taxes) - Are limited liability companies (or the legal equivalent). Registration procedures in the economy's largest - Are located in the periurban area of the economy’s largest business city. business citya. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest Postregistration procedures (for example, filling business city. title with municipality) - Are 100% domestically and privately owned. Time required to complete each procedure - Have 50 employees each, all of whom are nationals. (calendar days) - Perform general commercial activities. Does not include time spent gathering information The property (fully owned by the seller): - Has a value of 50 times income per capita, which equals the sale price. Each procedure starts on a separate day - though - Is fully owned by the seller. procedures that can be fully completed online - Has no mortgages attached and has been under the same ownership for are an exception to this rule the past 10 years. Procedure is considered completed once final - Is registered in the land registry or cadastre, or both, and is free of title document is received disputes. No prior contact with officials - Is located in a periurban commercial zone, and no rezoning is required. Cost required to complete each procedure (% of - Consists of land and a building. The land area is 557.4 square meters property value) (6,000 square feet). A two-story warehouse of 929 square meters (10,000 square feet) is located on the land. The warehouse is 10 years old, is in Official costs only (such as administrative fees, good condition, has no heating system and complies with all safety duties and taxes). standards, building codes and legal requirements. The property, Value Added Tax, Capital Gains Tax and illicit consisting of land and building, will be transferred in its entirety. payments are excluded - Will not be subject to renovations or additional construction following the Quality of land administration index (0-30) purchase. - Has no trees, natural water sources, natural reserves or historical Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) monuments of any kind. Transparency of information index (0–6) - Will not be used for special purposes, and no special permits, such as for Geographic coverage index (0–8) residential use, industrial plants, waste storage or certain types of agricultural activities, are required. Land dispute resolution index (0–8) - Has no occupants, and no other party holds a legal interest in it. Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) Standard Property Transfer Property value LKR 27,146,119.40 City Covered Colombo Page 26   OECD high Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Standard Property Transfer Property value LKR 27,146,119.40 City Covered Colombo OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Procedures (number) 9 6.8 4.6 1.00 (4 Economies) Time (days) 51 111.6 22.3 1.00 (3 Economies) Cost (% of property value) 5.1 6.9 4.2 0.00 (5 Economies) Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 2.5 8.0 22.7 29.00 (Singapore) Figure – Registering Property in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 47.08: India (Rank: 154) 45.97: Regional Average (South Asia) 45.92: Sri Lanka (Rank: 157) 41.41: Pakistan (Rank: 170) 39.97: Maldives (Rank: 174) 27.67: Bangladesh (Rank: 185) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of registering property is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for registering property. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Registering Property in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 4.5 50 4 40 3.5 Cost (% of property value) 3 Time (days) 30 2.5 2 20 1.5 1 10 0.5 0 0 1 *2 *3 *4 5 6 7 8 9 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Page 27   Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a di erent procedure list for registering property. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Figure – Registering Property in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost Time Cost 4.5 50 4 40 3.5 Cost (% of property value) 3 Time (days) 30 2.5 2 20 1.5 1 10 0.5 0 0 1 *2 *3 *4 5 6 7 8 9 Procedures (number) * This symbol is shown beside procedure numbers that take place simultaneously with the previous procedure. Note: Online procedures account for 0.5 days in the total time calculation. For economies that have a di erent procedure list for men and women, the graph shows the time for women. For more information on methodology, see the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/methodology). For details on the procedures re ected here, see the summary below. Figure – Registering Property in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 9 8.2 8.5 8.0 8 7.6 7 6 Index score 5 4.5 4 3 2.5 2 1 0 Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Details – Registering Property in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Seller needs to obtain certi cate of non-vesting and certi cate of 16 days LKR 598.50 ownership stating that the seller is the owner of the land and premises (simultaneous with from the Municipality Procedures 1,2 and Agency : Colombo Municipal Council 4) The seller obtains the following documents from the Municipality (from a di erent counter than the building and street line certi cate in procedure 2): 1. Certi cate of non-vesting 2. Certi cate of ownership stating that the seller is the owner of the land and premises 2 Seller needs to obtain the building and street line certi cate from the 14 days LKR 330 Page 28   Municipality (simultaneous with Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Registering Property in Sri Lanka – Procedure, Time and Cost No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs 1 Seller needs to obtain certi cate of non-vesting and certi cate of 16 days LKR 598.50 ownership stating that the seller is the owner of the land and premises (simultaneous with from the Municipality Procedures 1,2 and Agency : Colombo Municipal Council 4) The seller obtains the following documents from the Municipality (from a di erent counter than the building and street line certi cate in procedure 2): 1. Certi cate of non-vesting 2. Certi cate of ownership stating that the seller is the owner of the land and premises 2 Seller needs to obtain the building and street line certi cate from the 14 days LKR 330 Municipality (simultaneous with Agency : Colombo Municipal Council Procedures 1,3 and 4) The seller obtains from the Municipality the building and street line certi cate and the certi cate of conformity 3 Obtain an updated survey plan of the property 14 days About 0.1% of Agency : Colombo Municipal Council (simultaneous with property value Procedures 1,2 and Obtaining a new updated plan of the land and the building is advisable to 3) ensure that the boundaries on the ground have not changed or if the survey plan is old. 4 A title search must be carried out at the relevant Land Registry 4 days LKR 500 Agency : Land Registry (simultaneous with procedures 2, 3 and On receipt of the last title deed and plan from the seller, a title search has to 4) be carried out at the relevant Land Registry. A lawyer/notary engaged by the purchaser has to recommend the title. Good title has to be established for the past 35 years. All deeds and plans have to be checked. If prior deeds are not available with the seller the notary will have to check duplicates of deeds at the Land Registry. If plans are not available, the relevant surveyors would have to be contacted and obtain duplicates of the plans. Other checks must be carried out as well by the lawyer (notary) at the local authority. Con rmation from the lawyer (notary) should be obtained that the title to the property is clear. On con rmation that the title to the property is clear, step 2 will apply; if not title insurance is recommended, and the next step would be to obtain a policy of title Insurance (procedure 1a). If title insurance is recommended in procedure 1 due to a defect in title, then the next step would be to obtain a Buyer's Policy of Title Insurance to cover defects. This step is optional and contingent to the result of step 1. If the policy is needed, the time necessary to obtain this title will depend on the time taken by the title insurance company to evaluate the title, make a decision to issue or not to issue the title insurance policy and the cost will depend on the premium payable. Usually title insurance is recommended for the following reasons: • Prior deeds and documentation not being available and further if the registers at the land registry cannot be traced for 35 years (if the books are damaged). • If there are any discrepancies in the title deeds and plans. • If the present owner had owned an undivided share of a larger land, and Page 29   3) ensure that the boundaries on the ground have not changed or if the survey Doing plan is old. 2018 Business Sri Lanka 4 A title search must be carried out at the relevant Land Registry 4 days LKR 500 Agency : Land Registry (simultaneous with procedures 2, 3 and On receipt of the last title deed and plan from the seller, a title search has to 4) be carried out at the relevant Land Registry. A lawyer/notary engaged by the purchaser has to recommend the title. Good title has to be established for the past 35 years. All deeds and plans have to be checked. If prior deeds are not available with the seller the notary will have to check duplicates of deeds at the Land Registry. If plans are not available, the relevant surveyors would have to be contacted and obtain duplicates of the plans. Other checks must be carried out as well by the lawyer (notary) at the local authority. Con rmation from the lawyer (notary) should be obtained that the title to the property is clear. On con rmation that the title to the property is clear, step 2 will apply; if not title insurance is recommended, and the next step would be to obtain a policy of title Insurance (procedure 1a). If title insurance is recommended in procedure 1 due to a defect in title, then the next step would be to obtain a Buyer's Policy of Title Insurance to cover defects. This step is optional and contingent to the result of step 1. If the policy is needed, the time necessary to obtain this title will depend on the time taken by the title insurance company to evaluate the title, make a decision to issue or not to issue the title insurance policy and the cost will depend on the premium payable. Usually title insurance is recommended for the following reasons: • Prior deeds and documentation not being available and further if the registers at the land registry cannot be traced for 35 years (if the books are damaged). • If there are any discrepancies in the title deeds and plans. • If the present owner had owned an undivided share of a larger land, and had sub-divided it without the consent of the other parties or without a Deed of Partition or Partition Plan. 5 Transfer deed is signed in favor of the buyer 2 days 1% of purchase price Agency : Lawyer/Notary (Lawyer’s fees) + LKR 500 additional cost The following document with regard to the Selling company must be presented to the buyer’s lawyer/notary for the deed of transfer to be signed in favor of the buyer: The documents are as follows: 1. Articles of Association of the company 2. Certi cate of incorporation of the seller 3. Resolution authorizing the sale of land. If the purchase-sale is a major transaction as de ned by section 185 of Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, such a transaction should require the shareholders sanction as well. The buyer needs to pass a resolution to purchase the property. On receipt of the above documents the deed of transfer in favor of the purchaser can be signed. Lawyer’s fees are paid by the buyer and will depend on the lawyer (usually 1% of purchase price). 6 Obtain the market value from the Provincial Department of Revenue 1 day LKR 250 Agency : Provincial Department of Revenue, Western Province Before or after the payment of stamp duty the instrument of transfer is forwarded to the o ce of the Provincial Department of Revenue of the Western Province for the purpose of obtaining the market value of the property. This measure was introduced beginning March 1, 2013 with the purpose of ensuring that stamp duties are paid based on the correct market Page 30   value. The appropriate value will be provided at the discretion of the purchaser can be signed. Lawyer’s fees are paid by the buyer and will depend Doing on the lawyer Business (usually 2018 of purchase price). 1%Lanka Sri 6 Obtain the market value from the Provincial Department of Revenue 1 day LKR 250 Agency : Provincial Department of Revenue, Western Province Before or after the payment of stamp duty the instrument of transfer is forwarded to the o ce of the Provincial Department of Revenue of the Western Province for the purpose of obtaining the market value of the property. This measure was introduced beginning March 1, 2013 with the purpose of ensuring that stamp duties are paid based on the correct market value. The appropriate value will be provided at the discretion of the department's valuer. If the instrument is submitted after the stamp duties have already been paid the and after the examination the department determines that the amount paid is inadequate, then the balance must be settled. The department will provide the certi cation of "instrument with duly paid stamp duties." By ensuring that the stamp duty was paid based on the value provided by the Provincial Department of Revenue the instrument will not be recalled later on for examination of its value and will not be refused registration. 7 Payment of stamp duty at a nominated bank 1 day Stamp duty payable Agency : State Bank as follows 3% on the First Rs. After execution of the deed of transfer stamp duty will have to be paid within 100 000 7 days to a nominated state bank in favor of the Revenue Commissioner of 4% on the Balance the relevent Provincial Council in which the land is situated. 8 Deed is sent for registration to the relevant land registry 15 days LKR 100 Agency : Land Registry After payment of stamp duty, the deed duly attested by the notary, will have to be sent for registration to the relevant Land Registry. The deed is registered and returned to the notary from the Land Registry within 3 days after receiving the Day Book. Notaries are involved with searching, preparing title report and attestation, as well as paying stamp duty. The details of the registered deeds are published in the Land Registry website (www.Rgd.gov.lk) and notice boards are available at the Land Registry o ce. Computerized system and greater number of sta are ensuring faster registration of deeds. 9 Name of the buyer must be registered at the Municipality and the 16 days LKR 570 for certi cate of ownership is obtained commercial Agency : Colombo Municipal Council properties The name of the new company will have to be registered as the new owner at the Colombo Municipal Council. An abstract of title form should be duly lled by a Notary Public and should be submitted to the relevant Local Authority together with a Pedigree, a certi cate, a copy of the rate receipt, a certi ed copy of the latest plan and deed of transfer and a covering letter prepared by the Notary. Thereafter the name of the new owner will be registered in the Assessment registers and the Certi cate of Ownership will be issued giving the present owner's name. Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Details – Registering Property in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 2.5 Page 31   Takes place simultaneously with previous procedure. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Registering Property in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of the land administration index (0-30) 2.5 Reliability of infrastructure index (0-8) 0.0 What is the institution in charge of immovable property registration? Land Registry Colombo In what format are the majority of title or deed records kept in the largest business city Paper 0.0 —in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? Is there an electronic database for checking for encumbrances (liens, mortgages, No 0.0 restrictions and the like)? Institution in charge of the plans showing legal boundaries in the largest business city: Sri Lanka Survey Department (SLSD) In what format are the majority of maps of land plots kept in the largest business city— Paper 0.0 in a paper format or in a computerized format (scanned or fully digital)? Is there an electronic database for recording boundaries, checking plans and providing No 0.0 cadastral information (geographic information system)? Is the information recorded by the immovable property registration agency and the Separate 0.0 cadastral or mapping agency kept in a single database, in di erent but linked databases databases or in separate databases? Do the immovable property registration agency and cadastral or mapping agency use No 0.0 the same identi cation number for properties? Transparency of information index (0–6) 1.5 Who is able to obtain information on land ownership at the agency in charge of Only 0.0 immovable property registration in the largest business city? intermediaries and interested parties Is the list of documents that are required to complete any type of property transaction Yes, online 0.5 made publicly available–and if so, how? Link for online access: http://www.rgde pt.lk/title/Transa ctions.htm Is the applicable fee schedule for any property transaction at the agency in charge of Yes, online 0.5 immovable property registration in the largest business city made publicly available– and if so, how? Link for online access: http://www.rgde pt.lk/title/Instru ment.htm Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a No 0.0 legally binding document that proves property ownership within a speci c time frame– and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Page 32   pt.lk/title/Instru Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka ment.htm Does the agency in charge of immovable property registration commit to delivering a No 0.0 legally binding document that proves property ownership within a speci c time frame– and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: Is there a speci c and separate mechanism for ling complaints about a problem that No 0.0 occurred at the agency in charge of immovable property registration? Contact information: Are there publicly available o cial statistics tracking the number of transactions at the No 0.0 immovable property registration agency? Number of property transfers in the largest business city in 2015: Who is able to consult maps of land plots in the largest business city? Anyone who 0.5 pays the o cial fee Is the applicable fee schedule for accessing maps of land plots made publicly available No 0.0 —and if so, how? Link for online access: Does the cadastral or mapping agency commit to delivering an updated map within a No 0.0 speci c time frame—and if so, how does it communicate the service standard? Link for online access: Is there a speci c and separate mechanism for ling complaints about a problem that No 0.0 occurred at the cadastral or mapping agency? Contact information: Geographic coverage index (0–8) 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the economy formally registered at the immovable No 0.0 property registry? Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city formally registered at the No 0.0 immovable property registry? Are all privately held land plots in the economy mapped? No 0.0 Are all privately held land plots in the largest business city mapped? No 0.0 Land dispute resolution index (0–8) 1.0 Does the law require that all property sale transactions be registered at the immovable No 0.0 property registry to make them opposable to third parties? Is the system of immovable property registration subject to a state or private No 0.0 guarantee? Is there a speci c compensation mechanism to cover for losses incurred by parties who No 0.0 engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information certi ed by the immovable property registry? Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a Yes 0.5 Page 33   property transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of engaged in good faith in a property transaction based on erroneous information ed by the immovable certi Business Doing 2018 Sri Lanka registry? property Does the legal system require a control of legality of the documents necessary for a Yes 0.5 property transaction (e.g., checking the compliance of contracts with requirements of the law)? If yes, who is responsible for checking the legality of the documents? Registrar. Does the legal system require veri cation of the identity of the parties to a property Yes 0.5 transaction? If yes, who is responsible for verifying the identity of the parties? Notary. Is there a national database to verify the accuracy of identity documents? No 0.0 For a standard land dispute between two local businesses over tenure rights of a District Court of property worth 50 times gross national income (GNI) per capita and located in the Colombo largest business city, what court would be in charge of the case in the rst instance? How long does it take on average to obtain a decision from the rst-instance court for More than 3 0.0 such a case (without appeal)? years Are there any statistics on the number of land disputes in the rst instance? No 0.0 Number of land disputes in the largest business city in 2015: Equal access to property rights index (-2–0) 0.0 Do unmarried men and unmarried women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0 Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0 Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the e ectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions Rights of borrowers and lenders through through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit information index collateral laws (0-10) measures rules and practices a ecting the coverage, scope and Protection of secured creditors’ rights through accessibility of credit information available through a credit registry or a bankruptcy laws (0-2) credit bureau. The strength of legal rights index measures the degree to Depth of credit information index (0–8) which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first determined Scope and accessibility of credit information whether a unitary secured transactions system exists. Then two case distributed by credit bureaus and credit scenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine how a nonpossessory registries (0-8) security interest is created, publicized and enforced according to the law. Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) Special emphasis is given to how the collateral registry operates (if Number of individuals and firms listed in largest registration of security interests is possible). The case scenarios involve a credit bureau as a percentage of adult population secured borrower, company ABC, and a secured lender, BizBank. Credit registry coverage (% of adults) In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow Number of individuals and firms listed in credit only case A or case B (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set registry as a percentage of adult population of legal provisions relating to the use of movable collateral. Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and Page 34   lender Do married men and married women have equal ownership rights to property? Yes 0.0 Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Getting Credit This topic explores two sets of issues—the strength of credit reporting systems and the e ectiveness of collateral and bankruptcy laws in facilitating lending. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Strength of legal rights index (0–12) Doing Business assesses the sharing of credit information and the legal rights of borrowers and lenders with respect to secured transactions Rights of borrowers and lenders through through 2 sets of indicators. The depth of credit information index collateral laws (0-10) measures rules and practices a ecting the coverage, scope and Protection of secured creditors’ rights through accessibility of credit information available through a credit registry or a bankruptcy laws (0-2) credit bureau. The strength of legal rights index measures the degree to Depth of credit information index (0–8) which collateral and bankruptcy laws protect the rights of borrowers and lenders and thus facilitate lending. For each economy it is first determined Scope and accessibility of credit information whether a unitary secured transactions system exists. Then two case distributed by credit bureaus and credit scenarios, case A and case B, are used to determine how a nonpossessory registries (0-8) security interest is created, publicized and enforced according to the law. Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) Special emphasis is given to how the collateral registry operates (if Number of individuals and firms listed in largest registration of security interests is possible). The case scenarios involve a credit bureau as a percentage of adult population secured borrower, company ABC, and a secured lender, BizBank. Credit registry coverage (% of adults) In some economies the legal framework for secured transactions will allow Number of individuals and firms listed in credit only case A or case B (not both) to apply. Both cases examine the same set registry as a percentage of adult population of legal provisions relating to the use of movable collateral. Several assumptions about the secured borrower (ABC) and lender (BizBank) are used: - ABC is a domestic limited liability company (or its legal equivalent). - ABC has up to 50 employees. - ABC has its headquarters and only base of operations in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - Both ABC and BizBank are 100% domestically owned. The case scenarios also involve assumptions. In case A, as collateral for the loan, ABC grants BizBank a nonpossessory security interest in one category of movable assets, for example, its machinery or its inventory. ABC wants to keep both possession and ownership of the collateral. In economies where the law does not allow nonpossessory security interests in movable property, ABC and BizBank use a fiduciary transfer-of-title arrangement (or a similar substitute for nonpossessory security interests). In case B, ABC grants BizBank a business charge, enterprise charge, floating charge or any charge that gives BizBank a security interest over ABC’s combined movable assets (or as much of ABC’s movable assets as possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 2 5.3 6.0 12.00 (4 Economies) Depth of credit information index (0-8) 6 4.0 6.6 8.00 (34 Economies) Page 35   Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0.0 3.8 18.3 100.00 (3 Economies) possible). ABC keeps ownership and possession of the assets. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 2 5.3 6.0 12.00 (4 Economies) Depth of credit information index (0-8) 6 4.0 6.6 8.00 (34 Economies) Credit registry coverage (% of adults) 0.0 3.8 18.3 100.00 (3 Economies) Credit bureau coverage (% of adults) 35.0 14.1 63.7 100.00 (23 Economies) Figure – Getting Credit in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 75.00: India (Rank: 29) 46.25: Regional Average (South Asia) 45.00: Pakistan (Rank: 105) 40.00: Sri Lanka (Rank: 122) 35.00: Maldives (Rank: 133) 25.00: Bangladesh (Rank: 159) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of getting credit is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for getting credit. These scores are the distance to frontier score for the sum of the strength of legal rights index and the depth of credit information index. Figure – Legal Rights in Sri Lanka and comparator economies 9 8 8 7 6 Index score 5 5.3 5 4 3 2 2 2 2 1 0 Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Details – Legal Rights in Sri Lanka Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 2 Does an integrated or uni ed legal framework for secured transactions that extends to the creation, publicity and No enforcement of functional equivalents to security interests in movable assets exist in the economy? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in a single category of movable assets, without No requiring a speci c description of collateral? Page 36   Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Legal Rights in Sri Lanka Strength of legal rights index (0-12) 2 Does an integrated or uni ed legal framework for secured transactions that extends to the creation, publicity and No enforcement of functional equivalents to security interests in movable assets exist in the economy? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in a single category of movable assets, without No requiring a speci c description of collateral? Does the law allow businesses to grant a non possessory security right in substantially all of its assets, without requiring Yes a speci c description of collateral? May a security right extend to future or after-acquired assets, and does it extend automatically to the products, proceeds No or replacements of the original assets? Is a general description of debts and obligations permitted in collateral agreements; can all types of debts and No obligations be secured between parties; and can the collateral agreement include a maximum amount for which the assets are encumbered? Is a collateral registry in operation for both incorporated and non-incorporated entities, that is uni ed geographically No and by asset type, with an electronic database indexed by debtor's name? Does a notice-based collateral registry exist in which all functional equivalents can be registered? No Does a modern collateral registry exist in which registrations, amendments, cancellations and searches can be No performed online by any interested third party? Are secured creditors paid rst (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a debtor defaults outside an insolvency No procedure? Are secured creditors paid rst (i.e. before tax claims and employee claims) when a business is liquidated? No Are secured creditors subject to an automatic stay on enforcement when a debtor enters a court-supervised No reorganization procedure? Does the law protect secured creditors’ rights by providing clear grounds for relief from the stay and/or sets a time limit for it? Does the law allow parties to agree on out of court enforcement at the time a security interest is created? Does the law Yes allow the secured creditor to sell the collateral through public auction or private tender, as well as, for the secured creditor to keep the asset in satisfaction of the debt? Figure – Credit Information in Sri Lanka and comparator economies 8 7 7 6 6 5 Index score 4.0 4 2 0 0 Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Details – Credit Information in Sri Lanka Page 37   0 0 Sri Lanka Doing Business 2018 Bangladesh Sri Lanka India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Details – Credit Information in Sri Lanka Credit Credit Depth of credit information index (0-8) bureau registry Score Are data on both firms and individuals distributed? Yes No 1 Are both positive and negative credit data distributed? Yes No 1 Are data from retailers or utility companies - in addition to data from banks and financial institutions - No No 0 distributed? Are at least 2 years of historical data distributed? (Credit bureaus and registries that distribute more Yes No 1 than 10 years of negative data or erase data on defaults as soon as they are repaid obtain a score of 0 for this component.) Are data on loan amounts below 1% of income per capita distributed? Yes No 1 By law, do borrowers have the right to access their data in the credit bureau or credit registry? Yes No 1 Can banks and financial institutions access borrowers’ credit information online (for example, Yes No 1 through an online platform, a system-to-system connection or both)? Are bureau or registry credit scores offered as a value-added service to help banks and financial No No 0 institutions assess the creditworthiness of borrowers? Score ("yes" to either public bureau or private registry) 6 Note: An economy receives a score of 1 if there is a "yes" to either bureau or registry. If the credit bureau or registry is not operational or covers less than 5% of the adult population, the total score on the depth of credit information index is 0. Coverage Credit bureau Credit registry Number of individuals 4,775,413 0 Number of firms 129,147 0 Total 4,904,560 0 Percentage of adult population 35.0 0.0 Protecting Minority Investors This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain as well as shareholder rights, governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Review and To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several approval requirements for related-party assumptions about the business and the transaction. transactions; Disclosure requirements for related-party transactions The business (Buyer): Extent of director liability index (0–10): Ability of - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important minority shareholders to sue and hold interested stock exchange. If the number of publicly traded companies listed on that directors liable for prejudicial related-party exchange is less than 10, or if there is no stock exchange in the economy, it is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with multiple Page 38   transactions; Available legal remedies (damages, Percentage of adult population 35.0 0.0 Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Protecting Minority Investors This topic measures the strength of minority shareholder protections against misuse of corporate assets by directors for their personal gain as well as shareholder rights, governance safeguards and corporate transparency requirements that reduce the risk of abuse. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Extent of disclosure index (0–10): Review and To make the data comparable across economies, a case study uses several approval requirements for related-party assumptions about the business and the transaction. transactions; Disclosure requirements for related-party transactions The business (Buyer): Extent of director liability index (0–10): Ability of - Is a publicly traded corporation listed on the economy’s most important minority shareholders to sue and hold interested stock exchange. If the number of publicly traded companies listed on that directors liable for prejudicial related-party exchange is less than 10, or if there is no stock exchange in the economy, it transactions; Available legal remedies (damages, is assumed that Buyer is a large private company with multiple disgorgement of profits, fines, imprisonment, shareholders. rescission of the transaction) - Has a board of directors and a chief executive o cer (CEO) who may legally act on behalf of Buyer where permitted, even if this is not speci cally Ease of shareholder suits index (0–10): Access to required by law. internal corporate documents; Evidence - Has a supervisory board (applicable to economies with a two-tier board obtainable during trial and allocation of legal system) on which 60% of the shareholder-elected members have been expenses appointed by Mr. James, who is Buyer’s controlling shareholder and a Extent of conflict of interest regulation index member of Buyer’s board of directors. (0–10): Simple average of the extent of disclosure, - Has not adopted any bylaws or articles of association that di er from extent of director liability and ease of default minimum standards and does not follow any nonmandatory codes, shareholder indices principles, recommendations or guidelines relating to corporate Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10): governance. Shareholders’ rights and role in major corporate - Is a manufacturing company with its own distribution network. decisions Extent of ownership and control index (0-10): The transaction involves the following details: Governance safeguards protecting shareholders - Mr. James owns 60% of Buyer and elected two directors to Buyer’s ve- from undue board control and entrenchment member board. Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10): - Mr. James also owns 90% of Seller, a company that operates a chain of Corporate transparency on ownership stakes, retail hardware stores. Seller recently closed a large number of its stores. compensation, audits and financial prospects - Mr. James proposes that Buyer purchase Seller’s unused eet of trucks to expand Buyer’s distribution of its food products, a proposal to which Buyer Extent of shareholder governance index (0–10): agrees. The price is equal to 10% of Buyer’s assets and is higher than the Simple average of the extent of shareholders market value. rights, extent of ownership and control and - The proposed transaction is part of the company’s ordinary course of extent of corporate transparency indices business and is not outside the authority of the company. Strength of minority investor protection index - Buyer enters into the transaction. All required approvals are obtained, (0–10): Simple average of the extent of conflict of and all required disclosures made (that is, the transaction is not interest regulation and extent of shareholder fraudulent). governance indices - The transaction causes damages to Buyer. Shareholders sue Mr. James and the other parties that approved the transaction. OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0- 6.7 5.5 6.4 9.3 (New Zealand) 10) Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 6 5.3 6.4 Page 39   9.00 (Kazakhstan) and the other parties that approved the transaction. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Extent of conflict of interest regulation index (0- 6.7 5.5 6.4 9.3 (New Zealand) 10) Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 6 5.3 6.4 9.00 (Kazakhstan) Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 80.00: India (Rank: 4) 71.67: Pakistan (Rank: 20) 63.33: Sri Lanka (Rank: 43) 56.67: Bangladesh (Rank: 76) 53.75: Regional Average (South Asia) 43.33: Maldives (Rank: 132) Note: The ranking of economies on the strength of minority investor protections is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for protecting minority investors. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for the extent of con ict of interest regulation index and the extent of shareholder governance index. Figure – Protecting Minority Investors in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Sri Lanka 6 5 8 6 6 7 Bangladesh 6 7 6 4 5 6 India 8 7 8 8 10 7 Maldives 4 8 01 5 8 Pakistan 7 7 6 9 8 6 OECD high income 7.3 5.6 6.5 5.2 6.3 7.4 South Asia 6.1 5.9 5.6 5.8 6.5 6.4 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Sub-Indicator Score Extent of corporate transparency index (0­10) Extent of director liability index (0­10) Extent of disclosure index (0­10) Extent of ownership and control index (0­10) Extent of shareholder rights index (0­10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0­10) Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Score Page 40   Extent of ownership and control index (0­10) Extent of shareholder rights index (0­10) Ease of shareholder suits index (0­10) Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Protecting Minority Investors in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Score Extent of con ict of interest regulation index (0-10) 6.7 Extent of disclosure index (0-10) 8 Which corporate body is legally su cient to approve the Buyer-Seller transaction? (0-3) Board of 2.0 directors excluding interested members Must an external body review the terms of the transaction before it takes place? (0-1) Yes 1.0 Must Mr. James disclose his con ict of interest to the board of directors? (0-2) Existence of a 1.0 con ict without any speci cs Must Buyer disclose the transaction in published periodic lings (annual reports)? (0-2) Disclosure on 2.0 the transaction and on the con ict of interest Must Buyer immediately disclose the transaction to the public and/or shareholders? (0- Disclosure on 2.0 2) the transaction and on the con ict of interest Extent of director liability index (0-10) 5 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital sue directly or derivatively Yes 1.0 for the damage the transaction caused to Buyer? (0-1) Can shareholders hold the interested director liable for the damage the transaction Liable if negligent 1.0 caused to Buyer? (0-2) Can shareholders hold the other directors liable for the damage the transaction caused Liable if negligent 1.0 to Buyer (0-2) Must Mr. James pay damages for the harm caused to Buyer upon a successful claim by Yes 1.0 shareholders? (0-1) Must Mr. James repay pro ts made from the transaction upon a successful claim by No 0.0 shareholders? (0-1) Is Mr. James disquali ed or ned and imprisoned upon a successful claim by No 0.0 shareholders? (0-1) Can a court void the transaction upon a successful claim by shareholders? (0-2) Voidable if 1.0 negligently concluded Ease of shareholder suits index (0-10) 7 Before suing can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the No 0.0 transaction documents? (0-1) Page 41   shareholder Ease ofBusiness Doing suits index 2018 (0-10) Sri Lanka 7 Before suing can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital inspect the No 0.0 transaction documents? (0-1) Can the plainti obtain any documents from the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-3) Any relevant 3.0 document Can the plainti request categories of documents from the defendant without No 0.0 identifying speci c ones? (0-1) Can the plainti directly question the defendant and witnesses at trial? (0-2) Yes 2.0 Is the level of proof required for civil suits lower than that of criminal cases? (0-1) Yes 1.0 Can shareholder plainti s recover their legal expenses from the company? (0-2) Yes if successful 1.0 Extent of shareholder governance index (0-10) 6 Extent of shareholder rights index (0-10) 6 Does the sale of 51% of Buyer's assets require shareholder approval? Yes 1.0 Can shareholders representing 10% of Buyer's share capital call for a meeting of Yes 1.0 shareholders? Must Buyer obtain its shareholders’ approval every time it issues new shares? No 0.0 Do shareholders automatically receive preemption rights every time Buyer issues new No 0.0 shares? Must shareholders approve the election and dismissal of the external auditor? Yes 1.0 Are changes to the rights of a class of shares only possible if the holders of the a ected Yes 1.0 shares approve? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, does the sale of 51% of its assets require Yes 1.0 member approval? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 10% call for a Yes 1.0 meeting of members? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must all members consent to add a new No 0.0 member? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a member rst o er to sell their No 0.0 interest to the existing members before they can sell to non-members? Extent of ownership and control index (0-10) 6 Is it forbidden to appoint the same individual as CEO and chair of the board of No 0.0 directors? Must the board of directors include independent and nonexecutive board members? Yes 1.0 Can shareholders remove members of the board of directors without cause before the Yes 1.0 end of their term? Must the board of directors include a separate audit committee exclusively comprising Yes 1.0 board members? Must a potential acquirer make a tender o er to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% Yes 1.0 Page 42   of Buyer? Must the board of directors include a separate audit committee exclusively comprising Yes 1.0 board Doing members? Business 2018 Sri Lanka Must a potential acquirer make a tender o er to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% Yes 1.0 of Buyer? Must Buyer pay declared dividends within a maximum period set by law? Yes 1.0 Is a subsidiary prohibited from acquiring shares issued by its parent company? Yes 1.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer have a mechanism to resolve No 0.0 disagreements among members? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must a potential acquirer make a tender No 0.0 o er to all shareholders upon acquiring 50% of Buyer? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer distribute pro ts within a No 0.0 maximum period set by law? Extent of corporate transparency index (0-10) 6 Must Buyer disclose direct and indirect bene cial ownership stakes representing 5%? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer disclose information about board members’ primary employment and Yes 1.0 directorships in other companies? Must Buyer disclose the compensation of individual managers? No 0.0 Must a detailed notice of general meeting be sent 21 days before the meeting? No 0.0 Can shareholders representing 5% of Buyer’s share capital put items on the general No 0.0 meeting agenda? Must Buyer's annual nancial statements be audited by an external auditor? Yes 1.0 Must Buyer disclose its audit reports to the public? Yes 1.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must members meet at least once a year? Yes 1.0 Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, can members representing 5% put items on No 0.0 the meeting agenda? Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer's annual nancial statements be Yes 1.0 audited by an external auditor? Paying Taxes This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as measures the administrative burden in paying taxes and contributions. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed on June 30, 2017 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2016 (January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016). Last year (Doing Business 2017) the scope of data collection was expanded to better understand the overall tax environment in an economy. The questionnaire was expanded to include new questions on post- ling processes: VAT refund and tax audit. The data shows where post ling processes and practices work e ciently and what drives the di erences in the overall tax compliance cost across economies. The new section covers both the legal framework and the administrative burden on businesses to comply with post ling processes. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Page 43   Tax payments for a manufacturing company in Using a case scenario, Doing Business records taxes and mandatory Assuming that Buyer is a limited company, must Buyer's annual nancial statements be Yes 1.0 audited by an external auditor? Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Paying Taxes This topic records the taxes and mandatory contributions that a medium-size company must pay or withhold in a given year, as well as measures the administrative burden in paying taxes and contributions. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed on June 30, 2017 covering for the Paying Taxes indicator calendar year 2016 (January 1, 2016 – December 31, 2016). Last year (Doing Business 2017) the scope of data collection was expanded to better understand the overall tax environment in an economy. The questionnaire was expanded to include new questions on post- ling processes: VAT refund and tax audit. The data shows where post ling processes and practices work e ciently and what drives the di erences in the overall tax compliance cost across economies. The new section covers both the legal framework and the administrative burden on businesses to comply with post ling processes. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Tax payments for a manufacturing company in Using a case scenario, Doing Business records taxes and mandatory 2016 (number per year adjusted for electronic and contributions a medium size company must pay in a year, and measures joint ling and payment) the administrative burden of paying taxes, contributions and dealing with post ling processes. Information is also compiled on frequency of ling Total number of taxes and contributions paid, and payments, time taken to comply with tax laws, time taken to comply including consumption taxes (value added tax, with the requirements of post ling processes and time waiting. sales tax or goods and service tax) Method and frequency of filing and payment To make data comparable across economies, several assumptions are used: Time required to comply with 3 major taxes - TaxpayerCo is a medium-size business that started operations on January (hours per year) 1, 2015. It produces ceramic flowerpots and sells them at retail. All taxes Collecting information, computing tax payable and contributions recorded are paid in the second year of operation Completing tax return, filing with agencies (calendar year 2016). Taxes and mandatory contributions are measured at all levels of government. Arranging payment or withholding Preparing separate tax accounting books, if The VAT refund process: required - In June 2016, TaxpayerCo. makes a large capital purchase: the value of the Total tax and contribution rate (% of pro t before machine is 65 times income per capita of the economy. Sales are equally all taxes) spread per month (1,050 times income per capita divided by 12) and cost of goods sold are equally expensed per month (875 times income per Profit or corporate income tax capita divided by 12). The machinery seller is registered for VAT and excess Social contributions, labor taxes paid by input VAT incurred in June will be fully recovered after four consecutive employer months if the VAT rate is the same for inputs, sales and the machine and Property and property transfer taxes the tax reporting period is every month. Input VAT will exceed Output VAT Dividend, capital gains, financial transactions in June 2016. taxes The corporate income tax audit process: Waste collection, vehicle, road and other taxes - An error in calculation of income tax liability (for example, use of incorrect tax depreciation rates, or incorrectly treating an expense as tax deductible) Post ling Index leads to an incorrect income tax return and a corporate income Time to comply with a VAT refund tax underpayment. TaxpayerCo. discovered the error and voluntarily Time to receive a VAT refund noti ed the tax authority. The value of the underpaid income tax liability is Time to comply with a corporate income tax audit 5% of the corporate income tax liability due. TaxpayerCo. submits corrected information after the deadline for submitting the annual tax Time to complete a corporate income tax audit return, but within the tax assessment period. OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Payments (number per year) 47 28.5 10.9 3 (Hong Kong SAR, China) Page 44   return, but within the tax assessment period. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Payments (number per year) 47 28.5 10.9 3 (Hong Kong SAR, China) Time (hours per year) 168 277.3 160.7 55 (Luxembourg) Total tax and contribution rate (% of profit) 55.2 43.0 40.1 18.47% (32 Economies) Postfiling index (0-100) 49.31 41.05 83.45 99.38 (Estonia) Figure – Paying Taxes in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 66.08: Maldives (Rank: 118) 66.06: India (Rank: 119) 59.55: Regional Average (South Asia) 56.13: Bangladesh (Rank: 152) 53.70: Sri Lanka (Rank: 158) 46.43: Pakistan (Rank: 172) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of paying taxes is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores on the ease of paying taxes. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the four component indicators – number of tax payments. time, total tax rate and post ling index – with a threshold and a nonlinear transformation applied to one of the component indicators, the total tax rate. The nonlinear distance to frontier for the total tax rate is equal to the distance to frontier for the total tax rate to the power of 0.8. The threshold is de ned as the total tax rate at the 15th percentile of the overall distribution for all years included in the analysis up to and including Doing Business 2015, which is 26.1%. All economies with a total tax rate below this threshold receive the same score as the economy at the threshold. Figure – Paying Taxes in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 60 49.31 49.31 50 44.36 46.10 41.05 40 Index score 30 20 10.49 10 0 Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Details – Paying Taxes in Sri Lanka Total tax and Tax or mandatory Payments Notes on Time Statutory tax contribution rate Notes on contribution (number) Payments (hours) rate Tax base (% of profit) TTR Page 45   Nation Building Tax 12 2% turnover 35.35 Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Figure – Paying Taxes in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Measure of Quality 60 49.31 49.31 50 44.36 46.10 41.05 40 Index score 30 20 10.49 10 0 Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Details – Paying Taxes in Sri Lanka Total tax and Tax or mandatory Payments Notes on Time Statutory tax contribution rate Notes on contribution (number) Payments (hours) rate Tax base (% of profit) TTR Nation Building Tax 12 2% turnover 35.35 Employer paid - Social 1 online 16 12% gross salaries 13.54 security contribution (EPF) Employees Trust Fund 12 3% gross salaries 3.38 (ETF) Property tax 1 35% annual 1.73 property value Corporate income tax 5 16 12% taxable profit 1.17 Tax on interest 0 withheld 10% interest income 0.26 included in other taxes Municipal business tax 1 varies from 0.02 LKR 250 to LKR 5,000 Stamp duty 1 various rates 0.00 small amount Employee paid - Social 0 jointly 8% gross salaries 0.00 withheld security contribution (EPF) Fuel tax 1 included in the 0.00 small price of fuel amount Value added tax (VAT) 12 136 11% /15% value addition 0.00 not included Vehicle tax 1 LKR 1,000 fixed fee 0.00 depending on vehicle type Page 46   Value added tax (VAT) 12 136 11% /15% value addition 0.00 not Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka included Vehicle tax 1 LKR 1,000 fixed fee 0.00 depending on vehicle type Totals 47 168 55.2 Details – Paying Taxes in Sri Lanka – Tax by Type Taxes by type Answer Profit tax (% of profit) 1.2 Labor tax and contributions (% of profit) 16.9 Other taxes (% of profit) 37.1 Details – Paying Taxes in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Score Post ling index (0-100) 49.31 VAT refunds Does VAT exist? Yes Does a VAT refund process exist per the case study? No Restrictions on VAT refund process Restricted to international traders and others Percentage of cases exposed to a VAT audit (%) Not applicable Is there a mandatory carry forward period? No Time to comply with VAT refund (hours) No VAT refund 0 per case study scenario Time to obtain a VAT refund (weeks) No VAT refund 0 per case study scenario Corporate income tax audits Does corporate income tax exist? Yes Percentage of cases exposed to a corporate income tax audit (%) 0% - 24% Time to comply with a corporate income tax audit (hours) 3.0 97.25 Time to complete a corporate income tax audit (weeks) No tax audit per 100 case study scenario Page 47   Notes: Names of taxes have been standardized. For instance income tax, pro t tax, tax on company's income are all named to comply with TimeBusiness Doing 2018 a corporate income tax audit (hours) Sri Lanka 3.0 97.25 Time to complete a corporate income tax audit (weeks) No tax audit per 100 case study scenario Notes: Names of taxes have been standardized. For instance income tax, pro t tax, tax on company's income are all named corporate income tax in this table. The hours for VAT include all the VAT and sales taxes applicable. The hours for Social Security include all the hours for labor taxes and mandatory contributions in general. The post ling index is the average of the scores on time to comply with VAT refund, time to obtain a VAT refund, time to comply with a corporate income tax audit and time to complete a corporate income tax audit. N/A = Not applicable. Trading across Borders Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tari s) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. Given the importance of trade digitalization, in Doing Business 2018, the Trading across Borders questionnaire included research questions on the availability and status of implementation of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Single Window (SW) systems. With this information, Doing Business built a comprehensive dataset on the adoption and level of sophistication of electronic platforms in 190 economies. These data are not used to compute the distance to frontier score or ranking of the ease of doing business. The new dataset on EDI and SW systems is available here. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Documentary compliance To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made about the traded goods and the transactions: Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during transport, clearance, inspections and port Time: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 or border handling in origin economy days are recorded as 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents hours, the data are recorded as is. Alternatively, suppose documents are required by destination economy and any transit submitted to a customs agency at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and economies can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. The time for customs clearance Covers all documents required by law and in would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 practice, including electronic submissions of hours. information Border compliance Cost: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are excluded from the costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Customs clearance and inspections Contributors are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. than 20% of shipments) Contributors are private sector experts in international trade logistics and Handling and inspections that take place at the are informed about exchange rates. economy’s port or border Assumptions of the case study: - For all 190 economies covered by Doing Domestic transport Business, it is assumed a shipment is in a warehouse in the largest Loading or unloading of the shipment at the business city of the exporting economy and travels to a warehouse in the warehouse or port/border largest business city of the importing economy. - It is assumed each Transport between warehouse and port/border economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS 8708) from its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the Traffic delays and road police checks while largest value (price times quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each shipment is en route economy exports the product of its comparative advantage (de ned by the largest export value) to its natural export partner—the economy that is the largest purchaser of this product. Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000. - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the Page 48   chosen export or import product and the trading partner, as is the a corporate income tax audit and time to complete a corporate income tax audit. N/A = Not applicable. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Trading across Borders Doing Business records the time and cost associated with the logistical process of exporting and importing goods. Doing Business measures the time and cost (excluding tari s) associated with three sets of procedures—documentary compliance, border compliance and domestic transport—within the overall process of exporting or importing a shipment of goods. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. Given the importance of trade digitalization, in Doing Business 2018, the Trading across Borders questionnaire included research questions on the availability and status of implementation of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Single Window (SW) systems. With this information, Doing Business built a comprehensive dataset on the adoption and level of sophistication of electronic platforms in 190 economies. These data are not used to compute the distance to frontier score or ranking of the ease of doing business. The new dataset on EDI and SW systems is available here. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Documentary compliance To make the data comparable across economies, a few assumptions are made about the traded goods and the transactions: Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents during transport, clearance, inspections and port Time: Time is measured in hours, and 1 day is 24 hours (for example, 22 or border handling in origin economy days are recorded as 22×24=528 hours). If customs clearance takes 7.5 Obtaining, preparing and submitting documents hours, the data are recorded as is. Alternatively, suppose documents are required by destination economy and any transit submitted to a customs agency at 8:00a.m., are processed overnight and economies can be picked up at 8:00a.m. the next day. The time for customs clearance Covers all documents required by law and in would be recorded as 24 hours because the actual procedure took 24 practice, including electronic submissions of hours. information Border compliance Cost: Insurance cost and informal payments for which no receipt is issued are excluded from the costs recorded. Costs are reported in U.S. dollars. Customs clearance and inspections Contributors are asked to convert local currency into U.S. dollars based on Inspections by other agencies (if applied to more the exchange rate prevailing on the day they answer the questionnaire. than 20% of shipments) Contributors are private sector experts in international trade logistics and Handling and inspections that take place at the are informed about exchange rates. economy’s port or border Assumptions of the case study: - For all 190 economies covered by Doing Domestic transport Business, it is assumed a shipment is in a warehouse in the largest Loading or unloading of the shipment at the business city of the exporting economy and travels to a warehouse in the warehouse or port/border largest business city of the importing economy. - It is assumed each Transport between warehouse and port/border economy imports 15 metric tons of containerized auto parts (HS 8708) from its natural import partner—the economy from which it imports the Traffic delays and road police checks while largest value (price times quantity) of auto parts. It is assumed each shipment is en route economy exports the product of its comparative advantage (de ned by the largest export value) to its natural export partner—the economy that is the largest purchaser of this product. Shipment value is assumed to be $50,000. - The mode of transport is the one most widely used for the chosen export or import product and the trading partner, as is the seaport, or land border crossing. - All electronic information submissions requested by any government agency in connection with the shipment are considered to be documents obtained, prepared and submitted during the export or import process. - A port or border is a place (seaport, airport or land border crossing) where merchandise can enter or leave an economy. - Relevant government agencies include customs, port authorities, road police, border guards, standardization agencies, ministries or departments of agriculture or industry, national security agencies and any other government authorities. Page 49   of agriculture or industry, national security agencies and any other Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka government authorities. OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Time to export: Border compliance (hours) 43 59.4 12.7 0 (17 Economies) Cost to export: Border compliance (USD) 366 369.8 149.9 0.00 (19 Economies) Time to export: Documentary compliance 48 77.0 2.4 1.0 (25 Economies) (hours) Cost to export: Documentary compliance (USD) 58 179.5 35.4 0.00 (19 Economies) Time to import: Border compliance (hours) 72 113.8 8.7 0.00 (21 Economies) Cost to import: Border compliance (USD) 300 638.0 111.6 0.00 (27 Economies) Time to import: Documentary compliance 48 104.7 3.5 1.0 (30 Economies) (hours) Cost to import: Documentary compliance (USD) 283 341.6 25.6 0.00 (30 Economies) Figure – Trading across Borders in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 73.29: Sri Lanka (Rank: 86) 58.56: India (Rank: 146) 58.32: Regional Average (South Asia) 55.87: Maldives (Rank: 152) 41.94: Pakistan (Rank: 171) 34.86: Bangladesh (Rank: 173) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of trading across borders is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for trading across borders. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for the time and cost for documentary compliance and border compliance to export and import (domestic transport is not used for calculating the ranking). Figure – Trading across Borders in Sri Lanka – Time and Cost Time Cost 80 366 400 72 70 350 300 60 283 300 48 48 Time (hours) Cost (USD) 50 43 250 40 200 30 150 20 100 58 10 50 0 0 Export - Border Compliance Export - Documentary Compliance Import - Border Compliance Import - Documentary CompliancePage 50   Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Figure – Trading across Borders in Sri Lanka – Time and Cost Time Cost 80 366 400 72 70 350 300 60 283 300 48 48 Time (hours) Cost (USD) 50 43 250 40 200 30 150 20 100 58 10 50 0 0 Export - Border Compliance Export - Documentary Compliance Import - Border Compliance Import - Documentary Compliance Details – Trading across Borders in Sri Lanka Characteristics Export Import Product HS 61 : Articles of apparel and clothing accessories, HS 8708: Parts and accessories of knitted or crocheted motor vehicles Trade partner United States Japan Border Colombo port Colombo port Distance (km) 5 5 Domestic transport time 6 6 (hours) Domestic transport cost 110 110 (USD) Details – Trading across Borders in Sri Lanka – Components of Border Compliance Time to Complete Associated Costs (hours) (USD) Export: Clearance and inspections required by customs authorities 24.0 171.7 Export: Clearance and inspections required by agencies other than customs 0.0 0.0 Export: Port or border handling 43.0 194.4 Import: Clearance and inspections required by customs authorities 24.0 72.6 Import: Clearance and inspections required by agencies other than customs 0.0 0.0 Import: Port or border handling 72.0 227.1 Details – Trading across Borders in Sri Lanka – Trade Documents Export Import Page 51   (USD) Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Trading across Borders in Sri Lanka – Components of Border Compliance Time to Complete Associated Costs (hours) (USD) Export: Clearance and inspections required by customs authorities 24.0 171.7 Export: Clearance and inspections required by agencies other than customs 0.0 0.0 Export: Port or border handling 43.0 194.4 Import: Clearance and inspections required by customs authorities 24.0 72.6 Import: Clearance and inspections required by agencies other than customs 0.0 0.0 Import: Port or border handling 72.0 227.1 Details – Trading across Borders in Sri Lanka – Trade Documents Export Import Commercial invoice Bill of lading Packing list Packing list Certificate of origin Commercial invoice Insurance certificate Certificate of origin Export declaration Customs Import Declaration Bill of lading Delivery order SOLAS certificate E-manifest SOLAS certificate Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local rst-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and e ciency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to enforce a contract through the The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract courts (calendar days) between 2 domestic businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes Time to file and serve the case the case from simple debt enforcement. Time for trial and to obtain the judgment To make the data comparable across economies, Doing Business uses Time to enforce the judgment several assumptions about the case: Cost required to enforce a contract through the - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller courts (% of claim) and Buyer), both located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 Attorney fees Page 52   economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. SOLAS certificate Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Enforcing Contracts The enforcing contracts indicator measures the time and cost for resolving a commercial dispute through a local rst-instance court, and the quality of judicial processes index, evaluating whether each economy has adopted a series of good practices that promote quality and e ciency in the court system. The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to enforce a contract through the The dispute in the case study involves the breach of a sales contract courts (calendar days) between 2 domestic businesses. The case study assumes that the court hears an expert on the quality of the goods in dispute. This distinguishes Time to file and serve the case the case from simple debt enforcement. Time for trial and to obtain the judgment To make the data comparable across economies, Doing Business uses Time to enforce the judgment several assumptions about the case: Cost required to enforce a contract through the - The dispute concerns a lawful transaction between two businesses (Seller courts (% of claim) and Buyer), both located in the economy’s largest business city. For 11 Attorney fees economies the data are also collected for the second largest business city. - The buyer orders custom-made goods, then fails to pay. Court fees - The value of the dispute is 200% of the income per capita or the Enforcement fees equivalent in local currency of USD 5,000, whichever is greater. Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) - The seller sues the buyer before the court with jurisdiction over commercial cases worth 200% of income per capita or $5,000. Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) - The seller requests a pretrial attachment to secure the claim. Case management (0-6) - The dispute on the quality of the goods requires an expert opinion. Court automation (0-4) - The judge decides in favor of the seller; there is no appeal. Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) - The seller enforces the judgment through a public sale of the buyer’s movable assets. Standardized Case Claim value LKR 1,043,795.00 Court name Colombo District Court City Covered Colombo OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Time (days) 1318 1101.6 577.8 164.00 (Singapore) Cost (% of claim value) 22.8 29.6 21.5 9.00 (Iceland) Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 7.5 7.0 11.0 15.50 (Australia) Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 55.07: Maldives (Rank: 106) 43.49: Pakistan (Rank: 156) 43.48: Regional Average (South Asia) Page 53   of judicial processes Quality Business Doing 2018 Sri index (0-18) Lanka 7.5 7.0 11.0 15.50 (Australia) Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 55.07: Maldives (Rank: 106) 43.49: Pakistan (Rank: 156) 43.48: Regional Average (South Asia) 40.76: India (Rank: 164) 39.31: Sri Lanka (Rank: 165) 22.21: Bangladesh (Rank: 189) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of enforcing contracts is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for enforcing contracts. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for each of the component indicators. Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Sri Lanka – Time and Cost Time Cost 1600 80 1442 1445 1400 66.8 1318 70 Cost (% of claim value) 1200 1071.2 1101.6 60 Time (days) 1000 50 760 800 40 31.0 577.8 29.6 600 30 21.5 20.5 22.8 400 16.5 20 200 10 0 0 Bangladesh India Maldives OECD high income Pakistan South Asia Sri Lanka Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Sri Lanka 2.5 0 0.5 4.5 Bangladesh 3 1 0.5 3 India 2.3 1.5 2 4.5 Maldives 1.5 0 1 4 Pakistan 2 1.2 0.5 2 OECD high income 2.5 2.9 2 3.6 South Asia 2.3 1.1 0.8 3.2 0 2 4 6 8 10 Page 54   12 0 0 Bangladesh India Maldives OECD high income Pakistan South Asia Sri Lanka Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Figure – Enforcing Contracts in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Sri Lanka 2.5 0 0.5 4.5 Bangladesh 3 1 0.5 3 India 2.3 1.5 2 4.5 Maldives 1.5 0 1 4 Pakistan 2 1.2 0.5 2 OECD high income 2.5 2.9 2 3.6 South Asia 2.3 1.1 0.8 3.2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Sub-Indicator Score Alternative dispute resolution (0­3) Case management (0­6) Court automation (0­4) Court structure and proceedings (­1­5) Details – Enforcing Contracts in Sri Lanka Indicator Time (days) 1318 Filing and service 62 Trial and judgment 1000 Enforcement of judgment 256 Cost (% of claim value) 22.8 Attorney fees 20.2 Court fees 1.1 Enforcement fees 1.5 Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 7.5 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 4.5 Case management (0-6) 0.0 Court automation (0-4) 0.5 Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.5 Details – Enforcing Contracts in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Page 55   Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.5 Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Enforcing Contracts in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Score Quality of judicial processes index (0-18) 7.5 Court structure and proceedings (-1-5) 4.5 1. Is there a court or division of a court dedicated solely to hearing commercial cases? Yes 1.5 2. Small claims court 1.5 2.a. Is there a small claims court or a fast-track procedure for small claims? Yes 2.b. If yes, is self-representation allowed? Yes 3. Is pretrial attachment available? Yes 1.0 4. Are new cases assigned randomly to judges? Yes, but manual 0.5 5. Does a woman's testimony carry the same evidentiary weight in court as a man's? Yes 0.0 Case management (0-6) 0.0 1. Time standards 0.0 1.a. Are there laws setting overall time standards for key court events in a civil case? No 1.b. If yes, are the time standards set for at least three court events? n.a. 1.c. Are these time standards respected in more than 50% of cases? n.a. 2. Adjournments 0.0 2.a. Does the law regulate the maximum number of adjournments that can be No granted? 2.b. Are adjournments limited to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances? No 2.c. If rules on adjournments exist, are they respected in more than 50% of cases? n.a. 3. Can two of the following four reports be generated about the competent court: (i) No 0.0 time to disposition report; (ii) clearance rate report; (iii) age of pending cases report; and (iv) single case progress report? 4. Is a pretrial conference among the case management techniques used before the No 0.0 competent court? 5. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court No 0.0 for use by judges? 6. Are there any electronic case management tools in place within the competent court No 0.0 for use by lawyers? Court automation (0-4) 0.5 1. Can the initial complaint be led electronically through a dedicated platform within No 0.0 the competent court? 2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims led before the No 0.0 competent court? Page 56   1. Can the initial complaint be led electronically through a dedicated platform within No 0.0 Businesscourt? the competent Doing 2018 Sri Lanka 2. Is it possible to carry out service of process electronically for claims led before the No 0.0 competent court? 3. Can court fees be paid electronically within the competent court? No 0.0 4. Publication of judgments 0.5 4.a Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at all levels made available to the No general public through publication in o cial gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? 4.b. Are judgments rendered in commercial cases at the appellate and supreme Yes court level made available to the general public through publication in o cial gazettes, in newspapers or on the internet or court website? Alternative dispute resolution (0-3) 2.5 1. Arbitration 1.5 1.a. Is domestic commercial arbitration governed by a consolidated law or Yes consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all its aspects? 1.b. Are there any commercial disputes—aside from those that deal with public No order or public policy—that cannot be submitted to arbitration? 1.c. Are valid arbitration clauses or agreements usually enforced by the courts? Yes 2. Mediation/Conciliation 1.0 2.a. Is voluntary mediation or conciliation available? Yes 2.b. Are mediation, conciliation or both governed by a consolidated law or Yes consolidated chapter or section of the applicable code of civil procedure encompassing substantially all their aspects? 2.c. Are there nancial incentives for parties to attempt mediation or conciliation (i.e., No if mediation or conciliation is successful, a refund of court ling fees, income tax credits or the like)? Resolving Insolvency Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to calculate the recovery rate, which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, Doing Business uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to recover debt (years) To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the case are Measured in calendar years used: Appeals and requests for extension are included - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s estate) suppliers. The hotel experiences nancial di culties. Page 57   Measured as percentage of estate value - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent if mediation or conciliation is successful, a refund of court ling fees, income tax credits or the like)? Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Resolving Insolvency Doing Business studies the time, cost and outcome of insolvency proceedings involving domestic legal entities. These variables are used to calculate the recovery rate, which is recorded as cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors through reorganization, liquidation or debt enforcement (foreclosure or receivership) proceedings. To determine the present value of the amount recovered by creditors, Doing Business uses the lending rates from the International Monetary Fund, supplemented with data from central banks and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Time required to recover debt (years) To make the data on the time, cost and outcome comparable across economies, several assumptions about the business and the case are Measured in calendar years used: Appeals and requests for extension are included - A hotel located in the largest city (or cities) has 201 employees and 50 Cost required to recover debt (% of debtor’s estate) suppliers. The hotel experiences nancial di culties. Measured as percentage of estate value - The value of the hotel is 100% of the income per capita or the equivalent Court fees in local currency of USD 200,000, whichever is greater. - The hotel has a loan from a domestic bank, secured by a mortgage over Fees of insolvency administrators the hotel’s real estate. The hotel cannot pay back the loan, but makes Lawyers’ fees enough money to operate otherwise. Assessors’ and auctioneers’ fees In addition, Doing Business evaluates the adequacy and integrity of the Other related fees existing legal framework applicable to liquidation and reorganization Outcome proceedings through the strength of insolvency framework index. The index tests whether economies adopted internationally accepted good Whether business continues operating as a going practices in four areas: commencement of proceedings, management of concern or business assets are sold piecemeal debtor’s assets, reorganization proceedings and creditor participation. Recovery rate for creditors Measures the cents on the dollar recovered by secured creditors Outcome for the business (survival or not) determines the maximum value that can be recovered Official costs of the insolvency proceedings are deducted Depreciation of furniture is taken into account Present value of debt recovered Strength of insolvency framework index (0- 16) Sum of the scores of four component indices: Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) Management of debtor’s assets index (0-6) Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) Creditor participation index (0-4) OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 42.9 32.7 71.2 93.1 (Norway) Time (years) 1.7 2.6 1.7 0.4 (Ireland) Page 58   Cost (% of estate) 10.0 9.9 9.1 1.00 (Norway) Creditor participation index (0-4) Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka OECD high Indicator Sri Lanka South Asia income Overall Best Performer Recovery rate (cents on the dollar) 42.9 32.7 71.2 93.1 (Norway) Time (years) 1.7 2.6 1.7 0.4 (Ireland) Cost (% of estate) 10.0 9.9 9.1 1.00 (Norway) Outcome (0 as piecemeal sale and 1 as going 0 .. .. .. concern) Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 7.0 4.9 12.1 15.00 (6 Economies) Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Ranking and DTF DB 2018 Distance to Frontier (DTF) 0 100 45.83: Pakistan (Rank: 82) 44.99: Sri Lanka (Rank: 88) 40.75: India (Rank: 103) 33.26: Maldives (Rank: 139) 33.04: Regional Average (South Asia) 27.71: Bangladesh (Rank: 152) Note: The ranking of economies on the ease of resolving insolvency is determined by sorting their distance to frontier scores for resolving insolvency. These scores are the simple average of the distance to frontier scores for the recovery rate and the strength of insolvency framework index. Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Sri Lanka – Time and Cost Time Cost 4.5 4.3 12 4.0 4 9.9 10.0 9.0 9.1 10 3.5 8.0 Cost (% of estate) 3 8 Time (years) 2.6 2.6 2.5 6 2 1.7 1.7 1.5 4.0 4.0 1.5 4 1 2 0.5 0 0 Bangladesh India Maldives OECD high income Pakistan South Asia Sri Lanka Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Sri Lanka 3 2.5 1 0.5 Page 59   Bangladesh 2 2 0 0 0 Bangladesh India Maldives OECD high income Pakistan South Asia Sri Lanka Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Measure of Quality Sri Lanka 3 2.5 1 0.5 Bangladesh 2 2 0 India 4.5 2 1 1 Maldives 0 2 0 Pakistan 3 2 2 0 OECD high income 5.4 2.8 2.3 1.9 South Asia 2.6 2 0.9 0.4 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Sub-Indicator Score Management of debtor's assets index (0­6) Commencement of proceedings index (0­3) Creditor participation index (0­4) Reorganization proceedings index (0­3) Figure – Resolving Insolvency in Sri Lanka and comparator economies – Recovery Rate Recovery Rate (cents on the dollar) 60 50.2 50 44.5 42.9 40 32.7 28.3 26.4 30 20 10 0 Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Details – Resolving Insolvency in Sri Lanka Indicator Answer Explanation Proceeding foreclosure As per provisions of the new Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, secured creditors are totally exempted from an automatic stay. Therefore, after Mirage's default on payment, BizBank would initiate foreclosure trying to recoup the investment as soon as possible by filing the petition at the High Court. Outcome piecemeal sale The hotel will stop operating and Mirage assets will be sold piecemeal by the court- appointed auctioneer after the foreclosure proceeding. Time (in years) 1.7 The foreclosure procedure takes approximate 1.7 years until BizBank is repaid some or all of the money owed to it. BizBank would initiate foreclosure after 60 days since Mirage's default on payment. It takes at least half a year for the High Court to make the initial decision on BizBank's petition. Mirage would be given another 60 days to appeal the decision followed by the Court's final decision (another 2 months). The appeal will take several months. The Page 60   Sri Lanka Bangladesh India Maldives Pakistan South Asia Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Resolving Insolvency in Sri Lanka Indicator Answer Explanation Proceeding foreclosure As per provisions of the new Companies Act No. 7 of 2007, secured creditors are totally exempted from an automatic stay. Therefore, after Mirage's default on payment, BizBank would initiate foreclosure trying to recoup the investment as soon as possible by filing the petition at the High Court. Outcome piecemeal sale The hotel will stop operating and Mirage assets will be sold piecemeal by the court- appointed auctioneer after the foreclosure proceeding. Time (in years) 1.7 The foreclosure procedure takes approximate 1.7 years until BizBank is repaid some or all of the money owed to it. BizBank would initiate foreclosure after 60 days since Mirage's default on payment. It takes at least half a year for the High Court to make the initial decision on BizBank's petition. Mirage would be given another 60 days to appeal the decision followed by the Court's final decision (another 2 months). The appeal will take several months. The preparation and execution of the auction sale until BizBank receives the sale proceeds usually takes at least 3 months. Cost (% of 10.0 The costs associated with the case would amount to approximately 10% of the value of the estate) debtor's estate. Cost incurred during the entire insolvency process mainly include court or government agency fees (<1%), attorney fees (5%), costs of notification and publication (<1%), ), fees of accountants, assessors, inspectors and other professionals (1%), and fees of auctioneers (5%), additional cost related to the auction (1%). Recovery rate (cents on the 42.9 dollar) Details – Resolving Insolvency in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Score Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 7.0 Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) 2.5 What procedures are available to a DEBTOR when commencing insolvency (a) Debtor may 1.0 proceedings? le for both liquidation and reorganization Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to le for insolvency of the debtor? (b) Yes, but a 0.5 creditor may le for liquidation only What basis for commencement of the insolvency proceedings is allowed under the (a) Debtor is 1.0 insolvency framework? generally unable to pay its debts as they mature Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) 3.0 Does the insolvency framework allow the continuation of contracts supplying essential No 0.0 goods and services to the debtor? Page 61   dollar) Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Resolving Insolvency in Sri Lanka – Measure of Quality Answer Score Strength of insolvency framework index (0-16) 7.0 Commencement of proceedings index (0-3) 2.5 What procedures are available to a DEBTOR when commencing insolvency (a) Debtor may 1.0 proceedings? le for both liquidation and reorganization Does the insolvency framework allow a CREDITOR to le for insolvency of the debtor? (b) Yes, but a 0.5 creditor may le for liquidation only What basis for commencement of the insolvency proceedings is allowed under the (a) Debtor is 1.0 insolvency framework? generally unable to pay its debts as they mature Management of debtor's assets index (0-6) 3.0 Does the insolvency framework allow the continuation of contracts supplying essential No 0.0 goods and services to the debtor? Does the insolvency framework allow the rejection by the debtor of overly burdensome Yes 1.0 contracts? Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of preferential transactions? Yes 1.0 Does the insolvency framework allow avoidance of undervalued transactions? Yes 1.0 Does the insolvency framework provide for the possibility of the debtor obtaining credit No 0.0 after commencement of insolvency proceedings? Does the insolvency framework assign priority to post-commencement credit? (c) No priority is 0.0 assigned to post- commencement creditors Reorganization proceedings index (0-3) 0.5 Which creditors vote on the proposed reorganization plan? (a) All creditors 0.5 Does the insolvency framework require that dissenting creditors in reorganization No 0.0 receive at least as much as what they would obtain in a liquidation? Are the creditors devided into classes for the purposes of voting on the reorganization No 0.0 plan, does each class vote separately and are creditors in the same class treated equally? Creditor participation index (0-4) 1.0 Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for selection or Yes 1.0 appointment of the insolvency representative? Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for sale of substantial No 0.0 Page 62   Creditor Doing participation Business 2018 index (0-4) Sri Lanka 1.0 Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for selection or Yes 1.0 appointment of the insolvency representative? Does the insolvency framework require approval by the creditors for sale of substantial No 0.0 assets of the debtor? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to request No 0.0 information from the insolvency representative? Does the insolvency framework provide that a creditor has the right to object to No 0.0 decisions accepting or rejecting creditors' claims? Note: Even if the economy’s legal framework includes provisions related to insolvency proceedings (liquidation or reorganization), the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice”. Labor Market Regulation Doing Business presents the data for the labor market regulation indicators in an annex. The report does not present rankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business. Detailed data collected on labor market regulation are available on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploretopics/labor-market-regulation). The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Hiring To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions (i) whether xed-term contracts are prohibited for about the worker and the business are used. permanent tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of xed-term contracts; (iii) length of the The worker: probationary period; (iv) minimum wage. - Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work experience. Working hours - Is a full-time employee. (i) maximum number of working days allowed per - Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory. week; (ii) premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime; (iii) whether there are The business: restrictions on work at night, work on a weekly rest - Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy). day and for overtime work; (iv) whether nonpregnant - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest and nonnursing women can work same night hours business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second as men; (v) length of paid annual leave. largest business city. - Has 60 employees. Redundancy rules - Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover (i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating more than 50% of the food retail sector and they apply even to rms that workers; (ii) whether employer needs to notify are not party to them. and/or get approval from third party to terminate 1 - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant bene ts than those mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective workers; (iii) whether law requires employer to bargaining agreements. reassign or retrain a worker before making worker redundant; (iv) whether priority rules apply for redundancies and reemployment. Redundancy cost (i) notice period for redundancy dismissal; (ii) severance payments due when terminating a redundant worker. Job quality (i) whether law mandates equal remuneration for Page 63   work of equal value and nondiscrimination based on the economy receives 0 points for the strength of insolvency framework index, if time, cost and outcome indicators are recorded as “no practice”. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Labor Market Regulation Doing Business presents the data for the labor market regulation indicators in an annex. The report does not present rankings of economies on these indicators or include the topic in the aggregate distance to frontier score or ranking on the ease of doing business. Detailed data collected on labor market regulation are available on the Doing Business website (http://www.doingbusiness.org/data/exploretopics/labor-market-regulation). The most recent round of data collection was completed in June 2017. See the methodology for more information. What the indicators measure Case study assumptions Hiring To make the data comparable across economies, several assumptions (i) whether xed-term contracts are prohibited for about the worker and the business are used. permanent tasks; (ii) maximum cumulative duration of xed-term contracts; (iii) length of the The worker: probationary period; (iv) minimum wage. - Is a cashier in a supermarket or grocery store, age 19, with one year of work experience. Working hours - Is a full-time employee. (i) maximum number of working days allowed per - Is not a member of the labor union, unless membership is mandatory. week; (ii) premiums for work: at night, on a weekly rest day and overtime; (iii) whether there are The business: restrictions on work at night, work on a weekly rest - Is a limited liability company (or the equivalent in the economy). day and for overtime work; (iv) whether nonpregnant - Operates a supermarket or grocery store in the economy’s largest and nonnursing women can work same night hours business city. For 11 economies the data are also collected for the second as men; (v) length of paid annual leave. largest business city. - Has 60 employees. Redundancy rules - Is subject to collective bargaining agreements if such agreements cover (i) whether redundancy can be basis for terminating more than 50% of the food retail sector and they apply even to rms that workers; (ii) whether employer needs to notify are not party to them. and/or get approval from third party to terminate 1 - Abides by every law and regulation but does not grant workers more redundant worker and a group of 9 redundant bene ts than those mandated by law, regulation or (if applicable) collective workers; (iii) whether law requires employer to bargaining agreements. reassign or retrain a worker before making worker redundant; (iv) whether priority rules apply for redundancies and reemployment. Redundancy cost (i) notice period for redundancy dismissal; (ii) severance payments due when terminating a redundant worker. Job quality (i) whether law mandates equal remuneration for work of equal value and nondiscrimination based on gender in hiring; (ii) whether law mandates paid or unpaid maternity leave; (iii) length of paid maternity leave; (iv) whether employees on maternity leave receive 100% of wages; (v) availability of ve fully paid days of sick leave a year; (vi) eligibility requirements for unemployment protection. Details – Labor Market Regulation in Sri Lanka Answer Hiring Page 64   Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No days of sick leave a year; (vi) eligibility requirements for unemployment protection. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Details – Labor Market Regulation in Sri Lanka Answer Hiring Fixed-term contracts prohibited for permanent tasks? No Maximum length of a single xed-term contract (months) No limit Maximum length of xed-term contracts, including renewals (months) No limit Minimum wage applicable to the worker assumed in the case study (US$/month) 75.1 Ratio of minimum wage to value added per worker 0.2 Maximum length of probationary period (months) n.a. Working hours Standard workday 8.0 Maximum number of working days per week 5.5 Premium for night work (% of hourly pay) 0.0 Premium for work on weekly rest day (% of hourly pay) 0.0 Premium for overtime work (% of hourly pay) 50.0 Restrictions on night work? Yes Whether nonpregnant and nonnursing women can work the same night hours as men No Restrictions on weekly holiday? No Restrictions on overtime work? No Paid annual leave for a worker with 1 year of tenure (working days) 14.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 5 years of tenure (working days) 14.0 Paid annual leave for a worker with 10 years of tenure (working days) 14.0 Paid annual leave (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure, in working days) 14.0 Redundancy rules Dismissal due to redundancy allowed by law? Yes Third-party noti cation if one worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if one worker is dismissed? Yes Third-party noti cation if nine workers are dismissed? Yes Third-party approval if nine workers are dismissed? Yes Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? No Page 65   Third-party Doing approval Business 2018 if nine Sriworkers Lanka are dismissed? Yes Retraining or reassignment obligation before redundancy? No Priority rules for redundancies? No Priority rules for reemployment? No Redundancy cost Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 4.3 Notice period for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 4.3 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1 year of tenure 10.8 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 5 years of tenure 54.2 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 10 years of tenure 97.5 Severance pay for redundancy dismissal (average for workers with 1, 5 and 10 years of tenure) 54.2 Job quality Equal remuneration for work of equal value? No Gender nondiscrimination in hiring? No Paid or unpaid maternity leave mandated by law? Yes Minimum length of maternity leave (calendar days)? 84.0 Receive 100% of wages on maternity leave? Yes Five fully paid days of sick leave a year? Yes Unemployment protection after one year of employment? No Minimum contribution period for unemployment protection (months)? n.a. Business Reforms in Sri Lanka In the year ending June 1, 2017, 119 economies implemented 264 total reforms across the di erent areas measured by Doing Business. Doing Business has recorded more than 2,900 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business since 2004. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are the reforms for Sri Lanka implemented since Doing Business 2008. = Doing Business reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more di cult to do business. DB2018 Trading across Borders: Sri Lanka made exporting and importing easier by developing a customs single window. DB2017 Starting a Business: Sri Lanka made starting a business easier by removing the stamp duty on newly issued shares. Protecting Minority Investors: Sri Lanka strengthened minority investor protections by requiring board and in some cases shareholder approval of related-party transactions and by requiring that such transactions undergo external review. Page 66   Minimum contribution period for unemployment protection (months)? n.a. Doing Business 2018 Sri Lanka Business Reforms in Sri Lanka In the year ending June 1, 2017, 119 economies implemented 264 total reforms across the di erent areas measured by Doing Business. Doing Business has recorded more than 2,900 regulatory reforms making it easier to do business since 2004. Reforms inspired by Doing Business have been implemented by economies in all regions. The following are the reforms for Sri Lanka implemented since Doing Business 2008. = Doing Business reform making it easier to do business. = Change making it more di cult to do business. DB2018 Trading across Borders: Sri Lanka made exporting and importing easier by developing a customs single window. DB2017 Starting a Business: Sri Lanka made starting a business easier by removing the stamp duty on newly issued shares. Protecting Minority Investors: Sri Lanka strengthened minority investor protections by requiring board and in some cases shareholder approval of related-party transactions and by requiring that such transactions undergo external review. DB2016 Starting a Business: Sri Lanka made starting a business easier by eliminating the requirement to notify the Registrar of Companies of the payment of stamp duty for the initial issuance of shares. Dealing with Construction Permits: Sri Lanka made dealing with construction permits less time-consuming by streamlining the internal review process for building permit applications. DB2015 Paying Taxes: Sri Lanka made paying taxes more costly for companies by increasing the reduced corporate income tax rate for qualifying small and medium-size enterprises. DB2014 Dealing with Construction Permits: Sri Lanka made dealing with construction permits easier by eliminating the requirement to obtain a tax clearance and by reducing building permit fees. Getting Electricity: Sri Lanka made getting electricity easier by improving the utility’s internal work ow and by reducing the time required to process new applications for connections. Paying Taxes: Sri Lanka made paying taxes easier for companies by introducing an electronic ling system for social security contributions. Trading across Borders: Sri Lanka made trading across borders easier by introducing an electronic payment system for port services. DB2013 Starting a Business: Sri Lanka made starting a business easier by computerizing and expediting the process of obtaining a registration number for the Employees Provident Fund and Employees Trust Fund. Registering Property: Sri Lanka made registering property faster by introducing an electronic system at the Land Registry in Colombo. Getting Credit: Sri Lanka strengthened its secured transactions system by establishing an electronic, searchable collateral registry and issuing regulations for its operation. Trading across Borders: Sri Lanka reduced the time to export by implementing the ASYCUDA World electronic data interchange system. DB2012 Protecting Minority Investors: Sri Lanka strengthened investor protections by requiring greater corporate disclosure in case of transactions between interested parties. Page 67   Doing Business 2018 DB2012 Sri Lanka Protecting Minority Investors: Sri Lanka strengthened investor protections by requiring greater corporate disclosure in case of transactions between interested parties. Paying Taxes: Sri Lanka made paying taxes less costly for businesses by abolishing the turnover tax and social security contribution and by reducing corporate income tax, value added tax and national building tax rates. DB2011 Paying Taxes: DB2010 Dealing with Construction Permits: Sri Lanka made dealing with construction permits more di cult by increasing some fees and adding a procedure. Getting Credit: Sri Lanka improved access to credit information through a consolidation of systems at the private credit bureau allowing all shareholder lending institutions to submit credit data, with no minimum threshhold for the loans to be reported to the database. DB2009 Getting Credit: Sri Lanka improved access to credit by strengthening its secured transactions system through its new company act, under which secured creditors’ claims are no longer frozen when the company goes into liquidation and by setting up an online system for banks to share credit information at the private credit bureau, collecting data on all loans from nancial institutions and distributing historical credit information covering a longer period. DB2008 Starting a Business: Sri Lanka made starting a business easier by eliminating burdensome requirements for approvals, introducing a at registration fee and making company seals and the use of notaries optional. Getting Credit: In Sri Lanka the private credit bureau increased the minimum threshold for loans on which negative information is distributed from 100,000 Sri Lanka rupees to 500,000. Trading across Borders: Sri Lanka made trading across borders easier by introducing a new electronic data interchange system that enables electronic submission and processing of customs declarations and cargo manifests and by providing for legal recognition of electronic documents and contracts. Page 68   that enables electronic submission and processing of customs declarations and cargo manifests and by providing for legal recognition of electronic Doing Business 2018 documents and contracts. Sri Lanka Page 69