State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe said yesterday that the Government has not yet reached a firm decision on lifting the ban on private motor vehicle imports.
He said that the prime focus of the Government is to uphold economic stabilisation at an acceptable threshold and added that this cautious approach was being taken to safeguard the economic gains achieved so far.
“The Government will abstain from taking any hasty decisions that could jeopardise the trajectory of ongoing economic stabilisation,” he said. He said this in response to the question whether the Government planned to lift the ban on private car imports, as speculated in industry circles.
There have been reports that the Government is developing policy guidelines to permit the import of private cars with engine capacities less than 1,000 cc and also electric vehicles.
The recent publication of a Gazette outlining the revised excise duties for petrol and electric cars has also added fuel to these rumours.
According to this notification, some categories of private cars will be liable for a staggering 300 percent excise duty, in addition to Customs duty and VAT.
State Minister Semasinghe said the Government will consider private car imports when its reserves and balance of payments reach healthy and accepted standards, pending reasonable stabilisation of the economy.
“Discussions are ongoing on the basis of economic stability,” he said.
Asked if there was a committee appointed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe to devise a new vehicle importation policy, Semasinghe said, “There are many committees appointed by the President on economic matters to navigate towards an enhanced economic stabilisation course.”
“We cannot make hasty decisions on certain matters, because the consequences could be quite painful to the people. We are working on economic stabilisation and growth,” he said.
