Hon. Major General (Rtd.) Aruna Jayasekera
2026-02-19
The Deputy Minister of Defence explained the government's process for evaluating and compensating owners for firearms acquired by the state. He outlined that a multi-agency committee — comprising representatives from the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Finance, the Government Analyst's Department, and the tri-forces — assesses each firearm's value, with the refund to the owner calculated after deducting taxes, departmental fees, and accounting for the weapon's age, condition, and depreciation, in accordance with government financial policy.
Hon. Member, the Government evaluates the current condition of the firearm. A committee comprising representatives of the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Finance, the Government Analyst’s Department, and members of the tri-forces determines the value. Taxes, departmental and other relevant fees are deducted from the original sale price, and considering the firearm’s age, condition and depreciation, the balance is refunded to the owner in line with Government financial policy.