Sri Lanka Industry Licence Fees: How to Read a Quote

There is no single standard price for an industry licence in Sri Lanka. The cost stacks in five layers: government fees, VAT, licensed professional fees, land and premises costs, and the tax registration, import-export registration and visa steps that quotes most often leave out. Before anyone talks about the total, check that the quote separates those five layers.

You are probably holding a one-page PDF that says "Licence & Registration Package — USD X", with a footnote reading "government fees included". Which government fees, on which version of the schedule, whether the number moves if you add a director, whether visas and customs registration sit inside the package — none of that is written down. What follows tracks the questions you will end up asking, in the order you will ask them.

Is there a single fee schedule for Sri Lankan licences?

No, because a "licence" is not issued by one authority. At minimum there are three tracks to look at:

• Company incorporation: the Registrar of Companies (ROC) charges form by form.
• Investment approval: BOI application fees and agreement processing fees, for projects routed through BOI.
• Sector permits: tourism, healthcare, education, finance, telecommunications and others each sit under their own regulator with their own fee table.

Beyond those three, three more payments get treated as extras: tax registration, customs import-export registration, and residence visas. They are not licence fees, but without them you cannot start operating. Charges follow the latest published requirements of each authority — for example ROC, BOI, IRD, Sri Lanka Customs and Immigration.

What exactly do the government fees cover?

For a private limited company, these lines in the current ROC schedule map directly onto your quote:

Item	How it is charged
Articles / Company Profile	LKR 2,000 + VAT
Form 01 (application to incorporate)	LKR 4,000 + VAT
Form 18 (consent of director)	LKR 2,000 + VAT per director
Form 19 (consent of company secretary)	LKR 2,000 + VAT

If the project needs BOI approval, a second set applies, published on the BOI charges page:

BOI item	Amount
Section 17 investment application processing fee	USD 400
Project agreement processing fee (normal project)	USD 2,500
Project agreement processing fee (strategic development project)	USD 4,500
Supplementary agreement (normal / strategic)	USD 700 / USD 4,000
Extension of implementation period	USD 75/month at or beyond one year; USD 100/month under one year

All of the above attract VAT on top, and can be paid in rupees at the prevailing exchange rate.

Why does adding a director change the quote?

Because Form 18 is charged per person: LKR 2,000 + VAT for each director. A three-person board against a sole director is a few thousand rupees on paper; stack notarisation, translation and passport certification on top and the gap gets wider. So ask one question before anything else: how many directors, how many shareholders and how many passports does this price assume?

Which costs scale with the size of the project?

• BOI agreement type. The processing fee for a normal project and for a strategic development project are not in the same league.
• Land and industrial zones. One-off land premium and annual ground rent vary widely between zones, a 10% Land Reservation Fee is payable on top, and leases typically run 30 years.
• Sector permits. Most are calculated on floor area, capacity, equipment or headcount; double the scale and the fee usually does not double in proportion.
• People. Residence visas are USD 200 per year, with any part year counted as a full year — headcount multiplied by years is not a small line.
• Import and export. Applications need a premises lease, utility bills, bank confirmation and other prerequisites; an incomplete file means repeated submissions, and that time cost eventually reappears as a service cost.

What is fixed, and what can actually be negotiated?

Government fees and VAT are fixed. They are published, and a service provider has no room to move them. Three things are negotiable: the professional fee (scope of work, whether accompanied attendance is included, whether later changes are included), third-party costs (notarisation, translation, certification, courier), and how the work is packaged (a single all-in figure versus milestone billing). Ask for "government fees disbursed on your behalf" and "professional fees" to be listed as separate lines. Only then are two totals comparable.

What do quotes most often leave out?

The most common misconception is that once the certificate of incorporation is in your hand, you can trade, import goods and bring staff over. You cannot.

• Customs import-export registration is a separate step. Company applications typically require GS02 (within 6 months), the business licence, TIN certificate, VAT certificate (permanent or temporary), proof of premises ownership or a lease, utility bills and bank confirmation; where the foreign director is overseas, passport and visa pages must be uploaded as well. When a lease expires or reaches one year, the TIN may be blocked in the system.
• Tax registration (TIN) is the basis for paying tax, for import and export, and for any IRD business. It needs the certificate of incorporation, ROC-certified Form 01/05/40, Form 20, director ID or passport, and the articles; BOI companies also submit the BOI registration certificate and the agreement.
• Residence visas are costed separately: USD 200 per year for the investor/employee category, with part years counted as full years. BOI employee applications also require the BOI certificate, BOI agreement, certificate of incorporation, director details, articles, BOI recommendation letter, passport bio page and a health cover plan.

The cost of leaving these out is not a few hundred dollars extra. It is a delayed opening — the lease has started, and nobody can move in.

How do I check a quote line by line?

1. Fee schedule version. ROC charges now rest on Extraordinary Gazette No. 2496/03 of 6 July 2026, and ROC issued a fee revision notice on 15 July 2026. Confirm the provider is citing this version, not an older one.
2. Currency and exchange rate. BOI fees are denominated in USD and may be paid in rupees; the quote should state the conversion rate and the date used.
3. Whether VAT is shown as a separate line.
4. Whether directors, shareholders and passport certifications are counted into the price.
5. Whether TIN, customs registration and visas are inside the package; if not, ask for a separate price for each.
6. Whether resubmissions, extensions and changes are charged on top.
7. Whether payment milestones line up with submission, acceptance, approval and ongoing compliance.

Who should I ask for each part of the cost?

For government fees, go straight to the authority's own website — ROC and BOI both publish their schedules. For sector permits, ask the relevant regulator for the current fee table. Professional fees come from licensed firms: law firms, chartered accountants, tax practitioners — whoever takes the work on quotes it. A coordinator (including us) maps the requirements, sequences the document checklist and brings licensed firms to the same table; approval outcomes and the fee basis are not decided by the coordinator.

This article is general information only and is not legal, tax or immigration advice. Specific requirements are subject to the latest position of the relevant Sri Lankan authorities and the licensed professional firm you engage.