• Cites insufficient US $ depreciation and need to consider impact on economy holistically  

Since the US dollar, which appreciated by 78% compared to the Sri Lankan rupee in the recent past, has only depreciated by 20% at present, the proposal to allow the import of vehicles should be studied in depth, said the State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya.

It has been proposed during a recent session of the Sectoral Oversight Committee (SOC) on National Economic and Physical Plans chaired by Government Parliamentarian Mahindananda Aluthgamage that the import of vehicles should be resumed, at least under a credit scheme.

While commenting on the matter to the media yesterday (14), Siyambalapitiya said: “The US dollar, which appreciated by 78% against the rupee has depreciated by only 20% at present. The value of the US dollar which went up to Rs. 360 from Rs. 202 has only come down to Rs. 300. Therefore, we, as the Government, have to study the proposals to allow the import of vehicles in depth.” 

Although the proposal is commendable in terms of the Customs revenue, he said that decisions of this sort should, however, be taken very carefully. “We should be thankful to the said SOC for having pointed this out to raise the Customs revenue, but we should carefully make decisions on these matters. The annual revenue target of Customs is around Rs. 1,226 billion. If we calculate this for a period of five months, it will be about Rs. 510 billion. A low income is expected in the first two quarters. The target revenue within the first five months of this year is Rs. 333 billion, and our income is Rs. 330 billion. Accordingly, we have received 99% of the target income.” 

Siyambalapitiya also said that the possibility of importing vehicles under a credit scheme as has been proposed during the said SOC should be studied further. “We are trying to come out of a huge debt trap. Therefore, a decision regarding the import of vehicles should be made by looking at the possible impact on the entire economy. We cannot make decisions just by looking at it on the surface.”

Speaking further, he said that the country is still experiencing difficulties caused by the foreign exchange shortage that emerged with the economic crisis. “We all remember what we had to go through due to the lack of US dollars. That is why we issue fuel under the quick response (QR) code system even at present. We restricted the import of about 4,000 items. The restriction of 900 such items is still in effect, and more than 300 of them are related to vehicles.”

During the session of the said SOC, Customs officials had said that the expected income could not be reached due to the restrictions imposed on the imports of commodities, including vehicles. They had pointed out that about 20% of the Customs revenue comes from the taxes imposed on the import of vehicles and that the expected revenue could not be reached until the import of vehicles is allowed.