A 50% surcharge has been imposed on the existing customs duty on cars and jeeps imported into the country for personal use, excluding land vehicles such as buses, goods lorries, motorcycles, three-wheelers and tractors used for public passenger transport, Deputy Minister of Financial Planning and Economic Development Nishantha Jayaweera said.
He also stated that the President has appointed a special committee to draft a new single legal act by amending the entire Customs Ordinance to suit the current and technical requirements. He said this while participating in a press conference held today (17).
Deputy Minister Nishantha Jayaweera made this statement while answering questions from journalists regarding changes in the customs tax system and vehicle import taxes.
Commenting on the amendment of the Customs Ordinance, Mr. Nishantha Jayaweera stated that a new Act that is compatible with modern import methods and technological advancements will be prepared in the future based on the recommendations of the appointed committee to replace the old Act, which has been amended from time to time.
In addition, he said that the Cabinet has approved the purchase of new scanners to make customs operations more efficient.
Through this, a system will be developed to clear documents and pay money at the time the goods are loaded onto the ship, and steps will be taken to minimize clearance delays by scanning only risky goods.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Anil Jayantha pointed out that the claims made by the Vehicle Importers Association that the price of vehicles could increase by between 7.5 and 2 million rupees due to the customs valuation method are baseless.
“If the valuation had decreased, there is no way that the tax would have increased. By May 15, a large number of vehicles had been imported into Sri Lanka. There is no reason for the price of those vehicles that have been brought into the country to increase,” he said.
This 50% surcharge was not imposed to generate revenue for the government, but as a temporary three-month measure to control the immediate demand for dollars and prevent the depreciation of the rupee, political sources say.
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