Need a TIN Just to Renew Your Revenue Licence Now — Fair Tax Net or More Red Tape?

Since November 1, every vehicle revenue licence application or renewal needs a Taxpayer Identification Number, following an Inland Revenue circular issued in September. It covers private owners, transfers done on MTA 11 and CMT 52 forms, and new registrations, with only narrow exemptions like minors and short-stay foreigners. Supporters say this is overdue: a vehicle is one of the clearest signs of real income, and tying ownership to a TIN makes it harder for people buying imported SUVs and vans to stay invisible to the tax system while everyone else pays. Critics say it is another counter, another document, another delay bolted onto a DMT process that already struggles with backlogs, and it drags in people who do not earn enough to owe tax at all just so they can keep driving legally. If you have renewed a licence or done a transfer since November 1, how did it actually go at the counter, quick or chaos? Do you think this closes a real loophole or just adds friction for ordinary owners? ඔබේ වාහනයේ ආදායම් බලපත්‍රය අලුත් කරන්න TIN අරගත්තද? කියන්න අත්දැකීම කොහොමද වුණේ.