The Supreme Court has informed that several sections of the proposed Finance Bill are unconstitutional, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena today (17) announced in Parliament.
He added that the Supreme Court has ruled that if the relevant unconstitutional clauses are amended, they can be passed by a simple majority.
Articles 4 (1), 5 (1), 5 (2), 5 (3), 5 (4), 5 (5), 6 (1), 7 (1), 12b, 13 (1), 14, 20 and 17 in the Finance Amendment Bill are unconstitutional, according to the Supreme Court.
Several parties including the JVP and the SJB filed petitions before the Supreme Court stating that several provisions in the Finance Bill introduced by the government to grant amnesty to tax evaders are inconsistent with the Constitution, and would require the bill to be passed by a special majority in Parliament and the people at a referendum.
The bill was gazetted after new Minister Basil Rajapaksa took the office.