By the end of this year, the government expects to remove all restrictions imposed on the import of vehicles other than private vehicles.
The officials of the Ministry of Finance revealed this in the Committee on Public Finance held in the Parliament yesterday (05).
The officials said this when the committee inquired about how long these vehicle import restrictions will be in effect, stressing the importance of avoiding a situation of dual jurisdiction, especially in the face of such restrictions, as in industries such as wheat flour and tiles.
These matters were discussed during the Committee on Public Finance meeting today (05) under the chairmanship of Member of Parliament Dr. Harsha De Silva.
Furthermore, under the Excise Tax (Special Provisions) Act No. 13 of 1989, since the excise tax is a tax introduced to simplify the tax structure, it has been emphasized that any car that is subject to excise tax on importation will be exempted from the tax.
The First Schedule of the Social Security Contribution Tax Act is to be amended to reduce the tax burden on persons with special needs, equipment used by such persons, and rough unpolished gems imported for re-export to maintain competitiveness in the global market by reducing the tax burden on Sri Lankan businesses by re-exporting after cutting and polishing stone, to exempt any goods sold in duty-free shops from social security contribution tax as other import duties have been removed.
However, the committee questioned the officials present about the effectiveness of reducing the tax burden and exempting the equipment used by disabled persons at a time when accessibility is still not easy.
