New Delhi, July 8 (IANS) A Right to Information inquiry has found that the Hambantota International Port Group (HIPG), operated by a Chinese company, has evaded Municipal C Council assessment taxes totalling over LKR 125.9 million, a new report has said.

The report from Times Asian cited official records that show the total outstanding balance for the port property at LKR 125,938,793.50 as of 31 December 2025, including warrant charges and penalty interest.

To recover arrears, the Hambantota Municipal Council had issued a Red Notice to the port management, seeking confiscation of the property under the Municipal Councils Ordinance for an outstanding amount of LKR 85,292,529 that was overdue by two quarters.

“Although there were previous discussions at council meetings regarding tax arrears exceeding LKR 250 million and Red Notices worth LKR 140 million, the Council has confirmed in writing that there are currently no arrears exceeding LKR 250 million,” the report said.

The port management had obtained an interim injunction against the council preventing the municipality from classifying the premises as a “commercial port” and from proceeding with property confiscation. The council later engaged a private law firm to represent it in the appeal and paid LKR 1 million from municipal funds for legal fees.

In response to a detailed 10-point RTI application regarding this tax evasion, the Municipal Council refused to answer most questions and declined certified copies of the final official valuation report of the port premises and the Red Notices, claiming that such information must be kept “confidential”.

“The Municipal Council completely refused to provide copies of the petitions related to the ongoing case in the Court of Appeal, interim injunctions, the procurement process through which the private law firm was selected,” the report alleged.

—IANS

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