The Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association (CMTA), hosted its 105th Annual General Meeting (AGM), at Hilton Residencies, Colombo recently.
The event was attended by stakeholders from across the automative industry and the chief guest was Vice Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, Bingumal Thewarathanthri.
Thewarathanthri outlined the fact that the automobile industry has been advocating for the creation of a Single Window platform for years and said, “We urgently need such a platform to ensure the trade is tracked properly. It would streamline the automobile trade by connecting banks, Customs, importers, exporters, logistic agencies, and shipping lines. Improved compliance and reduced opportunities for fraud or errors will lead to increased tax and duty collection.
“The creation of a Single Window is estimated to take about two years, with a projected cost ranging from US$ 20 million to US$ 80 million,” he said. “The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has held discussions with Pakistan and has also received proposals from certain mature markets on this initiative.
Though the Government is committed to the Single Window initiative, it has not taken significant steps towards its implementation so far. Permitting trade-based money laundering to persist could have catastrophic results for the country.”
One of the main focal points of the AGM was the need to revitalise the automative industry, in the wake of the relaxation of vehicle import restrictions. Managing Director, Kia Motors (Lanka) Limited Andrew Perera was appointed as the Chairman of the Association, for the year 2025/2026. Lakmal De Silva and Shalain De Silva were nominated as Vice Chairmen.
