Sri Lanka will permit the import of vehicles in 2025 in stages as the country needs the revenue from custom duty, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.
At a Q&A with heads of media organisations held on Wednesday August 07, Wickremesinghe said Sri Lanka should be in a position to lift the ongoing ban on vehicle imports as the country’s reserves are being built up.
“Next year, we will be allowing the vehicle import by stages because we need the custom duty to make up for revenue. We’re waiting for, I think our reserves are being built up, so it should be in a position to allow the import of vehicles because duties from vehicle imports is a major source of revenue for the government we need for next year,” he said.
State Minister for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has said that the final decision regarding the lifting of the ban on vehicle imports will be taken in the second week of August.
The Minister said he hoped to be able to import vehicles depending on the country’s exchange rate status and the priority of people’s needs.
Public transport vehicles, goods transport vehicles, and private vehicles will be imported under the regulations.
Although the Cabinet had approved the import of 1,000 vehicles (250 buses and 750 vans) to be used in the tourism sector, none have been imported so far, Siyambalapitiya said.
Source: ECONOMYNEXT