Sri Lanka Imposes Additional 50% Surcharge on Imported Vehicles

The Ministry of Finance of Sri Lanka has decided to impose an additional 50% surcharge on customs import duty for imported vehicles.

According to a special gazette notification issued with the signature of Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the new surcharge will come into effect from today (16) and will remain applicable for a period of three months.

However, the gazette further states that this additional 50% surcharge will not apply to vehicles for which Letters of Credit (LCs) had already been opened on or before May 15.

The Ministry of Finance had previously decided to remove this 50% surcharge from April 1. Nevertheless, authorities have now moved to implement the surcharge from today onward.

The decision is expected to impact the cost of imported vehicles and may lead to higher market prices in the coming months.