31.
| (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (5), there shall be deducted, for the purposes of section 30, from the assessable income of a person for any year of assessment in respect of every qualifying payment made by him in that year of assessment, an allowance equal to the amount of such qualifying payment. |
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| (2) In this section, " qualifying payment" means -
| | (a) a donation made by any person in money to an approved charity, | | |
| | (b) a donation made in money or otherwise to the Government of Sri Lanka, to a local authority, to a fund established by the Government of Sri Lanka, or to a fund established by a local authority and approved by the Minister, | | |
| | (c) expenditure incurred by any person on any project included in a development plan of the Government of Sri Lanka if such expenditure was incurred -
| | | (i) with the prior written approval of the Minister, and |
| (ii) in accordance with such terms and conditions as may have been specified by the Minister at the time of granting such approval, such approval being granted, arid such terms and conditions being specified, by the Minister, having regard to the development priorities of the Government, |
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| | (d) any sum invested by any person in the purchase of ordinary shares, other than existing shares, in an approved undertaking. | | |
| | (e) any amount paid by an individual to the Government of Sri Lanka or to any banking institution within the meaning of the Monetary Law Act or to any local authority or to any other institution approved by the Minister in charge of the subject of Housing having regard to the housing policy of the Government -
| | | (i) in the repayment of capital of any loan granted on or after April 1, 1973, for the construction of a house or for the purchase either of the first house or of the first site for the construction of a house purchased on or after that date, such repayment being made by that individual while he is the owner of that house or site ; |
| (ii) as monthly payments in respect of any house let on or after April 1, 1973, on rent-purchase terms ; |
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| | (f) any amount certified by the Commissioner for National Housing as having been spent by an individual on the construction of a house, such amount not being an amount obtained on any loan from the Government of Sri Lanka or any institution or authority referred to in paragraph (c) ; | | |
| | (g) any amount spent by an individual for the purchase on or after April 1, 1978, of either the first house or the first site for the construction of a house purchased by him on or after that date, such amount not being an amount obtained on a loan from the Government of Sri Lanka or any institution or authority referred to in paragraph (e); | | |
| | (h) any premia paid by an individual on a life insurance policy or a policy of medical insurance or for the purchase of an annuity, not being premia paid outside Sri Lanka -
| | | (i) in respect of any policy issued outside Sri Lanka after July 4, 1957 ; or |
| (ii) for the purchase of an annuity outside Sri Lanka after July 4, 1957 ; |
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| | (i) any contributions made by an individual to such provident fund or pension fund as is approved by the Commissioner-General or to a regulated provident fund if the emoluments from which such contributions are made are not exempt from income tax under section 9 (b) ; | | |
| | (j) any sum expended by an individual who is professionally qualified -
| | | (i) in the payment of subscription to any professional association of which he is a member or in the purchase of professional books, journals and reports ; and |
| (ii) on travel abroad for the purpose of participating in any seminar or conference relating to the profession carried on or exercised by that individual if such purpose is approved by the Minister as being of benefit or general advantage to such profession, |
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| (3) Where a qualifying payment made by any individual or deemed to have been made by any individual consists of an amount spent by him on the purchase or construction of a house or the purchase of a site for the construction of a house and referred to in paragraph (f) or paragraph (g), such individual may apportion such amount between the year of assessment in which such amount was expended and not more than four years of assessment immediately succeeding that year of assessment and the amount so apportioned to each such year of assessment shall, for the purpose of subsection (1), be deemed to be a qualifying payment made by that individual in that year of assessment : |
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| (4) Where the total statutory income of any child for any year of assessment is aggregated with, and deemed to be a part of, the total statutory income of his parent for that year of assessment, any qualifying payment made by that child in that year of assessment shall be deemed to be a qualifying payment made by such parent. |
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| (5) The deduction from the assessable income of any person for any year of assessment in respect of the total of all qualifying payments, other than those referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2) made by him, or deemed to have been made by him, in that year of assessment shall not exceed one-third of such assessable income. |
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| (6) The amount of any qualifying payment referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2) made or deemed to have been made by any person in any year of assessment which cannot be deducted from his assessable income for that year of assessment shall be deducted from his assess able income for the next succeeding year of assessment, and so on. |
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| (7) Where an allowance has been deducted from the assessable income of any person under subsection (1) in respect of any qualifying payment made for the purchase of any shares referred to in paragraph (d) of subsection (2) and where, within a period of five years after the date of such purchase -
| | (a) there is a change in the ownership of those shares otherwise than by the death of the individual who purchased those shares or by the dissolution of, or the cessation of the business carried on by, the company or body of persons which purchased those shares ; or | | |
| | (b) any sum of money in respect of those shares is with- drawn or realized by. or paid to,, the person who purchased those shares, | | |
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| (8) Where an allowance has been deducted from the assessable income of a person under subsection (1) in respect of any qualifying payment made for the purchase of any shares referred to in paragraph (d) of subsection (2) and where the Commissioner-General finds that the company which alloted those shares has not utilized the moneys collected by the issue of those shares for the purposes of the activity of such company for which approval was grant- ed by the Minister under subsection (9) within two years of the date on which such moneys were collected by the company, the Minister may by Order published in the Gazette, withdraw the approval granted to such company with effect from the date specified in such Order and where the approval is so withdrawn, then, in respect of any year of assessment in which an allowance was granted to such person in respect of such qualifying payment an additional assessment consisting of the difference between the income tax to which the person who has been granted the allowance would have been liable if such allowance had not been granted and the amount of the tax charged for that year of assessment shall, notwithstanding anything in this Act, be made in respect of that person and accordingly the provisions of this Act relating to notice of assessment, appeal and other proceedings shall apply to such additional assessment. |
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| (9) For the purposes of this section -
| | (a) an " approved charity " means an approved charity within the meaning of section 18A of the Inland Revenue Act, No. 4 of 1963, or any such public charitable trust or institution as is declared by the Minister by notice published in the Gazette, to be an approved charity for the purposes of this section ; | | |
| | (b) an "approved undertaking" means a company -
| | | (i) which is engaged solely in-
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| (ii) with which an agreement has been entered into by the Greater Colombo Economic Commission under section 17 of the Greater Colombo Economic Commission Law, No. 4 of 1978 ; |
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| | (c) the amount of a donation made to the Government otherwise than in money shall be the value of such donation and such value shall -
| | | (i) be the cost during that year of assessment to the donor of the property donated, or |
| (ii) where the cost during that year of assessment cannot be ascertained or where no cost was incurred in that year of assessment, be the market value of the property donated at the time of such donation. |
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Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts