Mendis Directors charged in Rs. 1.035 Billion VAT evasion case

The Inland Revenue Department has filed a case against Arjun Aloysius and Anthony Randev Jinendra John, directors of W. M. Mendis and Company, for allegedly evading Value Added Tax (VAT) payments totaling Rs. 1.035 billion.

The case was presented today (June 30) before Colombo Additional Magistrate Pavithra Sanjeewani Pathirana.

The charges claim that the accused failed to remit VAT payments owed to the government for the financial years 2019 and 2020, resulting in a significant loss to the state.

Representing the Inland Revenue Commissioner, Attorney-at-Law Dinesh Perera requested the court to issue summons for the two directors.

He described the act as deliberate tax evasion.

Magistrate Pathirana accepted the request and ordered Aloysius and John to appear in court on October 13, 2025.

This is not the first time the two have faced legal issues over tax matters. In an earlier case, they were convicted and sentenced to six months in prison for similar VAT-related offenses.

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