VAT tax invoices in Sri Lanka: what Gazette 2463/05 changes

From 1 January 2026, VAT tax invoices in Sri Lanka follow the format set out in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2463/05, published on 17 November 2025 under section 20 of the Value Added Tax Act, No. 14 of 2002. If you are VAT-registered, the invoices you hand to customers need to follow it.

Here is what changed in practice, and what a compliant invoice prints.

1. Check the gazette number on your invoice

The rules come from Gazette Extraordinary No. 2463/05. Some invoices in circulation quote a different gazette number. If your system prints a reference, make sure it is the right one.

2. The invoice number has a set pattern

The gazette sets a serial pattern for tax invoice numbers that carries the period, a code for the branch or unit issuing the invoice, and a running number:

YYMMM_QQQQ_XXXXX — for example 26NOV_HO_00042

• YYMMM — the year and month (26NOV = November 2026).
• QQQQ — a code for the branch, unit or project issuing the invoice (HO for head office, BR03 for branch 3, and so on).
• XXXXX — the running invoice number.

The gazette's own worked example reads as a number that restarts each month. If your accountant reads it differently, the numbering can run continuously instead — in Zimozo it is a setting on each invoice scheme.

3. Amounts are in whole rupees

Amounts on the tax invoice are printed without cents. Watch for one side effect: if the value of supply, the VAT and the total are each rounded on their own, the VAT column can end up one rupee out from total minus value. Zimozo avoids this by working the VAT out as the rounded total minus the rounded value of supply, so the three figures always add up.

4. What a compliant invoice prints

A Zimozo VAT tax invoice prints these fields, following the gazette's format:

• The heading Tax Invoice, the date of the invoice and the tax invoice number
• Supplier details: TIN, name, address and telephone number
• Purchaser details: TIN, name, address and telephone number
• The date of delivery and the place of supply
• For each line: description of the goods or services, quantity, unit price and amount excluding VAT
• The total value of supply, the VAT amount with its rate, and the total including VAT
• The total amount in words, and the mode of payment

5. Only VAT-liable items belong on it

The tax invoice is for supplies that carry VAT. Zimozo warns the cashier if a non-VAT item is added to a VAT invoice rather than refusing to print — so a sale is never stuck at the counter — and leaves the decision to you.

Getting it right without changing how you work

In Zimozo you switch an invoice scheme to the Sri Lanka VAT format, set the branch code, and choose whether numbering restarts monthly. From then on every VAT invoice from that scheme follows the pattern above, and your existing receipts and layouts stay exactly as they were.

This guide explains how Zimozo applies the gazette. It is not tax advice — confirm anything specific to your business with your accountant or the Inland Revenue Department.