Quotations and VAT Invoices for Sri Lankan Hotels, Reception Halls and Caterers

VAT basics for venues and caterers

VAT has been 18% since 1 January 2024, and a business must register once taxable supplies pass Rs 15 million in a quarter or Rs 60 million in 12 months. VAT returns must be filed electronically from July 2025, and the Simplified VAT scheme ended on 1 October 2025. From 1 July 2026 every VAT-registered hotel, reception hall or caterer must use the IRD's revised tax invoice format, including a prescribed invoice number. Separately, the Social Security Contribution Levy of 2.5% applies to service providers' turnover once they cross the SSCL threshold.

The VAT rules that shape a Sri Lankan venue's paperwork

VAT is 18% on taxable supplies from 1 January 2024. Registration is compulsory once taxable supplies exceed Rs 15 million in a quarter or Rs 60 million over 12 months. That catches most city hotels and many busy reception halls, while a small outstation caterer may sit below it.

Registered persons issue tax invoices to other registered persons, file VAT returns monthly or quarterly depending on their taxable period, and, from 1 July 2025, must file those returns electronically. The IRD notice on the VAT (Amendment) Act No. 04 of 2025 also confirmed that the Simplified VAT scheme ended on 1 October 2025.

The biggest change for 2026 is the invoice itself. IRD Circular SEC/2026/E/03 sets a revised tax invoice format that became fully mandatory on 1 July 2026. We cover it in detail at /lk/vat-invoice-template.

SSCL: the levy that does not appear on the invoice

The Social Security Contribution Levy is 2.5% of liable turnover, and for service providers the whole turnover counts. It is a cost of your business, charged on your turnover, not a tax the IRD asks you to print on a customer's invoice. Many hotels and halls build it into their package prices.

The IRD's SSCL page lists a threshold of Rs 15 million for a quarter or Rs 60 million over four quarters. Practitioner summaries report that the SSCL (Amendment) Act No. 10 of 2026 lowered it further from April 2026, so confirm the current figure with your accountant before assuming you are outside it.

Two documents, one booking

The quotation at /lk/quotation-template is built for per-head wedding and function packages in rupees, with room for the poruwa, dancers, DJ and decor, a clear statement on VAT and service charge, and a validity date short enough to survive price changes. The VAT invoice at /lk/vat-invoice-template follows the IRD's revised format field by field, including the new invoice number structure.

Keep both on one booking record. The couple's accepted quotation becomes the basis of the invoice, and the advance they paid three months earlier has to appear against the right invoice number when the balance is billed.

What makes a Sri Lankan booking different

Sri Lankan weddings are often two events: the wedding itself, with a morning or evening poruwa ceremony at an auspicious time, and a home-coming a few days later, frequently hosted by the other family at a different venue. Each is a separate booking and a separate quotation, even when the same hotel hosts both. Venues that treat them as one booking end up with advances credited against the wrong event.

Nakath times drive the calendar. Two couples may want the same hall on the same auspicious day, one in the morning and one at night, and the turnaround between them has to allow for the poruwa to be struck and the room reset. Write the slot, the start and finish time and the reset window on every quotation.

Corporate business keeps many city hotels busy on weekdays: conferences, product launches and annual general meetings. Those clients are usually VAT-registered, want a tax invoice in the new IRD format, and pay by bank transfer after the event, so their paperwork looks quite different from a family's.

Where Venura fits

Venura holds the booking calendar, quotations, invoices, advances, balances and event sheets in one place, in rupees, with 18% VAT or no VAT set per line depending on your registration. It checks for double bookings of the same hall and slot, and sends documents to couples and companies by WhatsApp or email. Venura does not connect to the IRD's RAMIS system; if you plan real-time invoice reporting, that runs through your ERP.

Pricing for Sri Lankan businesses is quoted per venue or caterer. Ask us for a price.

Questions from Sri Lanka