Overview
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia (West, South & Central) |
| ISO 3166-1 | LK / LKA |
| Registry | DRC |
| Last updated | 2026-05-06 |
Identifiers
Collect two identifiers from each business customer in Sri Lanka and submit them as strings on the application body.| API field | Local name | Issuer |
|---|---|---|
businessInfo.taxId | TIN | Inland Revenue Department (IRD) |
businessInfo.businessEntityId | Company Registration Number | DRC |
Sector regulators
CBSL · SEC SL · IRCSL · FIU
Legal structures
| Local name | Abbreviation | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Private Limited Company | (Pvt) Ltd | Closely-held company limited by shares under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007; share transfer restricted, membership capped at 50, cannot offer shares to the public. The dominant SME vehicle in Sri Lanka. Equivalent to a US LLC. |
| Public Limited Company | PLC | Share-capital company that may offer shares to the public; minimum 7 shareholders; subject to SEC SL disclosure rules and eligible for stock exchange listing. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Company Limited by Guarantee | — | Non-share company under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007; members guarantee a fixed contribution on winding-up; used by nonprofits, professional associations, and charities. Closest US equivalent: Nonprofit Corporation. |
| Unlimited Company | — | Company with share capital but with no limit on members’ liability; registered with DRC under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007; rare in practice. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Off-Shore Company | — | Incorporated under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007 but restricted from trading within Sri Lanka; used for holding or treasury operations conducted entirely outside Sri Lanka. Closest US equivalent: C-Corp. |
| Foreign Company (Branch) | — | Foreign entity registered with the DRC to carry on business in Sri Lanka; no separate legal personality from the parent; liability rests with the foreign parent. Closest US equivalent: Branch/Rep Office. |
| Partnership | — | Two to twenty persons carrying on business in common under the Partnership Ordinance (Cap. 179); all partners bear unlimited joint liability; no limited-partnership variant exists under current Sri Lankan law. Closest US equivalent: General Partnership. |
| Cooperative Society | — | Member-owned enterprise registered under the Co-operative Societies Law No. 5 of 1972 with the Department of Cooperative Development; members share profits and liability is limited to subscribed shares. Closest US equivalent: Cooperative. |
| Sole Proprietorship | — | Single natural person trading under the Business Names Ordinance (Cap. 180); registered at the Divisional Secretariat; no separate legal entity and full personal liability. Equivalent to a US Sole Proprietorship. |
How documents combine
For each evidence area, this table shows whether the listed documents are alternatives (any one of) or a bundle (all required). The artifact-by-artifact lookup follows below.| Evidence area | Documents needed |
|---|---|
| Legal Registration | Certificate of Incorporation |
| Constitutive Documents | Articles of Association |
| Tax Registration | Any one of: TIN Certificate · VAT Certificate |
| Operating Permit | Trade License |
| Ownership Records | Shareholder Register |
| Governance Records | Any one of: Directors Register · Form 1 Extract (Director Particulars) |
| Signing Authority | Board Resolution or Notarially Attested Power of Attorney |
| Address | Any one of: Lease Agreement · Utility Bill · Bank Statement |
| Good Standing | Certificate of Good Standing |
Documents to collect
The physical documents you’ll collect from your customer, with the evidence area each one proves. One document can prove multiple areas — for example, Brazil’s Cartão CNPJ covers both tax and business-registration proof, so it appears once with both areas listed.| Document | Proves |
|---|---|
| Certificate of Incorporation | Legal Registration |
| Articles of Association | Constitutive Documents |
| TIN Certificate | Tax Registration |
| VAT Certificate | Tax Registration |
| Trade License | Operating Permit |
| Shareholder Register | Ownership Records |
| Directors Register | Governance Records |
| Form 1 Extract (Director Particulars) | Governance Records |
| Board Resolution or Notarially Attested Power of Attorney | Signing Authority |
| Lease Agreement | Address |
| Utility Bill (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Bank Statement (≤90 days old) | Address |
| Certificate of Good Standing (DRC) | Good Standing |
Collection notes
- Legal Registration: Downloaded from eROC dashboard (no physical certificate issued since eROC launch); includes PV/PB number.
- Constitutive Documents: Filed at DRC with Form 1 on incorporation; single constitutive document (no separate memorandum under 2007 Act).
- Tax Registration: TIN from IRD RAMIS; VAT certificate also from IRD if turnover threshold met (LKR 36 m p.a. from 2026-04-01; previously LKR 60 m). Collect both where applicable.
- Operating Permit: Issued by local Municipal Council or Pradeshiya Sabha; sector-neutral business premises permit.
- Ownership Records: Internal register maintained at the company’s registered office; records members’ names, addresses, and share holdings.
- Governance Records: Maintained at registered office under Companies Act No. 7 of 2007; changes notified to DRC via eROC.
- Signing Authority: POA executed per Companies Act No. 7 of 2007 s.19 (signed by two directors or authorised signatory); board resolution sufficient for routine banking mandates.
- Address: Lease (no time bound) OR utility bill OR bank statement, with utility/bank dated within 90 days. Same evidence satisfies both registered-address and operating-address checks.
- Good Standing: Issued on request by the Department of the Registrar of Companies under the Companies Act No. 7 of 2007; downloadable via the eROC dashboard for compliant companies. Request a certificate dated within 30–90 days of submission; banks typically require ≤30 days.
Person roles
When you submit a person on the application body, set theirrole to one of Conduit’s canonical BusinessPersonRole values. Use this table to map a local corporate-governance title onto the right canonical role.
| Local role | Canonical API role | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Appointed to board; exercises day-to-day management; executive function. |
| Non-Executive Director | CONTROLLING_PERSON | Board-level governance role without operational authority. |
| Attorney / POA Holder | LEGAL_REPRESENTATIVE | Person authorized under notarially attested instrument (s.19) to bind the company. |
Notes
- No physical Certificate of Incorporation: DRC stopped issuing physical certificates; integrators must download the digitally signed PDF from the eROC dashboard. Verify authenticity via eROC search at eroc.drc.gov.lk.
- Sri Lanka is NOT a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (HCCH Status Table, cid=41): foreign public documents require full consular legalisation chain via the Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs; apostille from a foreign authority alone is not accepted.
- No limited partnership form: The Partnership Ordinance (Cap. 179) creates general partnerships only — all partners bear unlimited joint liability. There is no statutory limited partnership vehicle.
- VAT threshold lowered: From 2026-04-01, businesses above LKR 36 million annual turnover (previously LKR 60 million) must register for VAT; a TIN certificate alone may exist for entities below the threshold. Confirm VAT status separately when onboarding lower-turnover entities.