The 30-year-old government payroll system will be modernized.

The Ministry of Finance has invited tenders for the development of a modern information technology system to replace the 30-year-old Government Payroll System (GPS). This is because the current system is technically outdated and can no longer meet modern operational requirements or comply with evolving information security needs.

The Department of State Accounts (DSA) of the Ministry of Finance has issued this tender notice under the title "Designing, Developing, and Implementing a Payroll System for Government Organizations."

Introduced in 1996, the existing government payroll system is used by a large number of public institutions, including government ministries, departments, special expenditure units, provincial councils, local government bodies, and selected statutory boards. However, due to its outdated technical structure, further updates have not been possible, and its weak security mechanisms pose risks of fraud, corruption, and data manipulation. This severely impacts the reliability and efficiency of government financial operations.

Furthermore, the current system lacks the flexibility or scalability to function as an integrated human resources and payroll management platform, hindering the productivity and efficiency of public institutions. The Department of State Accounts emphasizes that transitioning to a secure and technologically advanced integrated payroll system, in line with global best practices and emerging information and communication technology trends, is an urgent necessity.

According to the tender specifications, the new system must strictly comply with public sector policies such as the Establishments Code, Government Financial Regulations, Treasury, Public Administration, and Budget Circulars. It must also be a multilingual system capable of data entry, software usage, and official note-taking in all three languages: Sinhala, Tamil, and English. To maintain a high level of financial accountability, multifactor authentication, the inclusion of dynamic security watermarks for downloaded documents, and the maintenance of secure audit trails for all transactions are mandatory. Additionally, the new system will incorporate Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to identify fraudulent or "ghost" employees.

To ensure that public servants receive their salaries on time even during internet connectivity breakdowns, an additional offline-operable tool must be included. This will enable regional payroll offices to update basic payroll information via a basic Excel sheet and prepare a valid bank transfer file.