Private vehicle imports likely by June 2025 – State Minister

Finance State Minister Dr.Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said the import of private use vehicles will be allowed by the middle of next year with the lifting of the the current ban on vehicle imports.

It has been observed that the official foreign reserves of the country have increased due to a number of factors including the increase in tourism earnings, the increase in the earnings of Sri Lankans abroad, and the increase in export income. Accordingly the present ban on importing vehicles will be lifted soon allowing imports of some categories of vehicles.

However, the State Minister said that the reserve level is not sufficient to allow the import of all vehicle categories including private vehicles at the same time.

In March 2020, the import of vehicles into Sri Lanka was temporarily suspended due to the financial downturn. It has been almost four and a half years since that decision was made.

Siyambalapitiya also said that in such an environment, the government has planned to allow the necessary vehicles to be imported to the country in a step-by-step manner. The State Minister recalled that President Ranil Wickramasinghe instructed the Finance Ministry to hold a wide discussion with all parties regarding the relevant subject before giving permission for vehicle imports.

Accordingly, a committee consisting of representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Tourism, Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Customs, Department of Motor Traffic, Department of Import and Export Control, Associations of motor vehicle importers to Sri Lanka, Associations of Vehicle Dealers and all related institutions in this field was appointed.

As a result, a number of extensive discussions have already taken place. The report prepared accordingly is currently being studied again.

The final decision regarding the lifting of the ban on the import of vehicles is to be taken by the second week of August.

The committee report is to be submitted to the Cabinet by the second week of August.

According to the report, the Minister said that it is believed that it will be possible to import vehicles without any undue influence on the exchange status of the country and according to the priority of people’s needs.

He stressed that the government’s aim is to ensure that everyone’s dream of buying a vehicle will not fade away.

The post Private vehicle imports likely by June 2025 – State Minister appeared first on DailyNews.