COLOMBO, Sept. 17 -- The Supreme Court has ruled that judicial officers are liable to pay income tax on their remuneration and that Advance Personal Income Tax (APIT) may lawfully be deducted from their salaries, while stressing that the State must ensure adequate remuneration to safeguard judicial independence.

The five-member bench, comprising Chief Justice P. Padman Surasena and Justices A.L. Shiran Gooneratne, Janak De Silva, Mahinda Samayawardhana and Arjuna Obeyesekere, delivered the judgment on Tuesday (15), dismissing three appeals filed by associations representing judicial officers.

The appeals challenged a November 2023 Court of Appeal judgment that dismissed applications seeking to prevent the imposition and deduction of API...