Board of investment (BOI) in Sri Lanka

The Board of Investment (BOI) in Sri Lanka is an autonomous statutory agency incorporated in 1978 and is the primary government authority responsible for foreign investments. The Board of Investment is structured to function as a central facilitating point for investors.

The BOI Act provides for two types of investment approvals. Under section 17 of the Act, the BOI is empowered to grant special concessions to companies satisfying specific eligibility criteria which are designed to meet strategic economic objectives of the country. Further, under section 16 of the BOI Act permits foreign investment entry to operate only under the 'normal laws' of the country; that is, for such enterprises, the provisions of the Inland Revenue, Customs and Exchange Control Laws shall apply.

A foreign company can have presence in Sri Lanka through any of the following form;

  • Branch office
  • Offshore company
  • Liaison/ representative office
  • Holding & subsidiary company

Resident visa

The BOI recommends different types of visas for investors, dependents, and expatriate workers of BOI approved projects under section 17 & section 16 of the BOI law.

  • This visa covers professionals who are employed to work on state-approved projects
  • Expat workers employed by a project under the Board of investors (BOI) of Sri Lanka

Note: For people working on BOI projects has to submit their documents to relevant departments and line of ministry for approval. Business setups

Sri Lanka is transforming to a hub for investments and trade, our business setup team provides you an array of services to get your business up and running in Sri Lanka.

We provide free advisory on setting up a business entity in Sri Lanka. Our service includes value additions that help you through each step of your set up process. This includes sourcing of office space; recruitment, shared services (Book Keeping & HR) and optional management consultancy which could be provided to you until the initial operations are stabilized. Our business set-up services include;

  • Company formation assistance,
  • Preliminary branding assistance,
  • Approval facilitation services,
  • Office infrastructure sourcing services,
  • Shared services,
  • Coordination & facilitation of business visits to Sri Lanka,

Registered office

Foreigners or expats, incorporating a company under laws of Sri Lanka would require a postal address in order to take forward their registration process. We are authorized to provide a postal address for such requirements. The services are further extended by helping the client by managing all correspondents taking place under that address.