Sri Lanka will introduce mandatory timelines and streamlined procedures for approvals and services provided by State institutions to businesses and the public, as part of efforts to improve the country’s business environment, accelerate growth and create jobs, Senior Additional Secretary to the President and Head of the National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC) Seevali Arukgoda.
He said the directive, under the signature of the Secretary to the President, is expected to be issued to Government agencies, for them to review and simplify their existing processes and publish step-by-step procedures, including the documents required and the timeframes for completing each process.
“This process will make State institutions more accountable while preventing businesses and investors from being left without answers when applications are delayed. Processes must be streamlined, simplified and published, with details of any additional documents that the relevant parties must submit, together with a timeline,” he said.
It has been observed that many Government authorities currently do not publish their procedures or specify how long it should take to obtain a particular approval, leaving applicants uncertain about when their issues will be resolved.
Under the proposed system, applicants would know the steps involved, the documents required and the expected timeframe for obtaining approval. Where an application cannot be resolved within the specified period, the relevant agency would also be expected to provide an explanation.
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Arukgoda said the Government also plans to accelerate the digitalisation of these processes in line with its broader digitalisation policy.
“Process simplification, together with the use of digital platforms and timelines, will be the way forward,” he said.
The Government is also working towards a National Single Window system, under which businesses would no longer have to approach multiple Government agencies separately to obtain approvals.
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For example, if an investment needs approvals from five State agencies, an applicant will submit the application through a single agency under the proposed system. The relevant line agencies would then examine the application and provide their approvals through the system.
This would reduce both the time and cost involved in securing regulatory approvals, Arukgoda said. He pointed to the contrast between Sri Lanka’s lengthy approval processes and international benchmarks and said that countries such as Singapore have developed highly streamlined systems for business registration and approvals.
“If you want to develop this country, we cannot have such a system,” he said, stressing the need to make it easier for both new businesses to enter the market and existing businesses to expand.
Arukgoda said simplifying regulatory procedures was critical to achieving the Government’s economic targets, including increasing Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to US$150 billion and export earnings to US$36 billion by 2030.
