Customs’ arbitrary decisions force VIAL to stop ‘Wagon-R’ imports

(FASTNEWS|COLOMBO) – The Vehicle Importers’ Association of Lanka (VIAL) said yesterday they had decided to stop the importation of ‘Suzuki Wagon-R’ vehicles due to the unjust and arbitrary decisions taken during Customs’ clearances.

Speaking at a media briefing, VIAL President Indika Sampath Merinchige said the Customs had decided to clear Wagon-R, classifying it as a non-hybrid vehicle.

“During importation, there are separate HS codes for petrol and diesel vehicles – Petrol: 8703 and Diesel: 8704. However, as there is no HS Code for hybrid vehicles, the Customs Nomenclature Committee (NC) had classified Wagon-R under the category Benz C-Class had been graded, saying both vehicles shared the same technology. This had been done without a proper study into technical specifications of the vehicle. Against this backdrop, Wagon-R has been considered a petrol vehicle,” he said.