Vehicle import levies to be applied after Budget: Ravi Karunanayake

Vehicle import levies to be applied after Budget: Ravi Karunanayake

The import duty rates on vehicles, to be imposed in this year’s Budget, would be applied to all the vehicles that reach Sri Lankan shores after the budget was produced, Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake said today.

He said many people had criticized last year that they were not informed beforehand when the previous government imposed taxes on imported vehicles.

“We decided to make this announcement as we were subjected to heavy criticism last year. We didn’t ask anyone not to send any vehicles to Sri Lanka till the budget is presented,” he said.

The government increased import duties on some categories of vehicles and the new rates were changed from the vehicles that arrived in the Sri Lanka ports after the budget date in early 2015 and the new rates were charged even though the vehicles were sent prior to the Budget.