The government yesterday cleared the names of Rakna Arakshaka Lanka and Avant Garde Maritime Solutions. Parliament was told that the setting up of the firms concerned, recruitment of personnel and the payment of taxes and other dues had been done correctly.
Leader of the Residence Lakshman Kiriella, reading out responses to a series of inquiries raised by JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Rakna Arakshaka Lanka and Avant Garde Maritime Solutions the earlier week, said that the Ministry of Defence had given permission to Rakna Arakshaka Lanka to deploy sea marshals. The organisation came below the purview of the Ministry of Defence. The organisation had recruited retired military officers. As the threat of sea pirates was escalating, the organisation had commenced deploying of sea marshals and it had accomplished so in accordance with the provisions and requirements stipulated by the International Maritime Organisation of the UN in the Circular MSC1/Circ/1443.
Rakna Arakshaka Lanka had been paying taxes due to the government regularly. It had paid more than Rs. 535 million to the government because 2011. In addition it had paid dividends to the Treasury. The amount of dividends paid by Rakna Arakshaka Lanka to the Treasury because 2011 exceeded Rs. 94 million, Minister Kiriella stated.
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