The Department of Commerce officially launched Integrity Week 2026 on 27 July 2026 with an opening ceremony attended by the Director General of Commerce (Actg.), Mr. Somasena Mahadiulwewa, the Head of the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), Mr. Jagath Abeywarna, senior officers, and staff of the Department.

Addressing the gathering, Director General of Commerce (Actg.) Mr. Somasena Mahadiulwewa emphasized that integrity is the foundation of an effective and trusted public service. He noted that the Department remains committed to strengthening transparency, accountability, and good governance while continuously improving its service delivery through digital transformation, innovation, and meaningful stakeholder engagement. He further stated that these efforts support the Government's vision of building a clean, efficient, and citizen-focused public service.

Speaking at the event, Mr. Jagath Abeywarna highlighted the key initiatives undertaken as part of Integrity Week 2026, including the establishment of the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU), integrity awareness programmes for officers, and stakeholder-driven improvements to the Electronic Certificate of Origin (eCOO) system. He noted that these initiatives are intended to further strengthen institutional integrity and enhance the quality and efficiency of the Department's services.

A key milestone of the opening ceremony was the formal establishment of the Internal Affairs Unit (IAU) and the opening of its dedicated office within the Department. To reinforce the objectives of Integrity Week, official awareness posters carrying the national theme, "A Culture of Integrity – A Strong Sri Lanka," have been displayed throughout the Department. A key feature of this year's programme is the Department's ongoing initiative to further strengthen its Electronic Certificate of Origin (eCOO) system through stakeholder engagement. Registered eCOO users were invited to submit suggestions and recommendations to enhance the quality, efficiency, transparency, and user-friendliness of the system. The initiative received an overwhelming response from the export community, and the Department has already commenced implementing appropriate improvements to further enhance its electronic certification services.

As part of the week's programme, an awareness lecture titled "Integrity and Ethical Conduct in the Public Service" was conducted for officers at the Department headquarters and Commercial Officers attached to Sri Lanka Missions overseas through a hybrid platform. The session was delivered by Dr. Tharindu Dananjaya Weerasinghe, Senior Lecturer, Department of Human Resource Management, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies, University of Kelaniya, an experienced trainer and author specializing in leadership, people management, organizational development, and ethics.

Through these initiatives, the Department of Commerce continues to strengthen institutional integrity, improve public service delivery, and promote a culture of transparency, accountability, and continuous improvement in support of Sri Lanka's trade and export development.

Colombo, 3 September 2026 – As part of its efforts to strengthen direct engagement with the exporting community and improve the efficiency and transparency of services relating to the issuance of Certificates of Origin (CoOs), the Department of Commerce (DoC) has launched a new initiative through its Internal Affairs Unit (IAU).

Under this initiative, exporters are provided with an opportunity to raise queries, concerns and complaints relating to the issuance of Certificates of Origin (CoOs) through a virtual meeting held on the first Wednesday of each month.

The inaugural virtual session was held on 2 September 2026 from 2.30 p.m. to 4.00 p.m., with more than 100 participants actively participating in the session. The high level of participation demonstrates the strong interest of the exporting community in engaging directly with DoC and obtaining clarification on matters relating to the issuance of CoOs.

During the inaugural session, DoC also briefed participants on several digital enhancements planned for the Certificate of Origin issuance process.

These planned enhancements include the integration of the eCoO system with GovPay, enabling more convenient and efficient online payments. DoC is also working towards Application Programming Interface (API) connectivity with the Sri Lanka Customs ASYCUDA system, which will facilitate the electronic exchange and verification of relevant export information.

In addition, an API interface is planned to be made available for integration with exporters’ Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. This will enable relevant information to be transmitted directly between exporters’ systems and the DoC eCoO platform, reducing manual data entry and duplication of information.

These system integrations are expected to reduce processing time by approximately 60 percent, while also minimizing the possibility of human errors arising from repeated manual data entry.

DoC further announced that the remaining Certificate of Origin schemes, including GSP and GSTP, are expected to be brought into the electronic Certificate of Origin (eCoO) system after obtaining consent from the relevant countries. With the implementation of these enhancements, DoC will be better positioned to integrate its Certificate of Origin services with the proposed National Single Window system, further contributing to the digitalization and facilitation of Sri Lanka’s international trade processes.

DoC will continue to engage with the exporting community through the “Ask the DoC” initiative and welcomes the active participation of exporters in raising issues, providing feedback and contributing to the continuous improvement of its services.