Govt. earned Rs 1060 million as customs duty for 129 electric vehicles imported by migrant workers – Manusha

By PRIYAN DE SILVA

Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara addressing journalists at the Presidential Media Centre on Wednesday (25) said that no duty rebate has been extended to migrant workers who remitted their earnings to Sri Lanka and qualified for a permit to import an electric vehicle.

Nanayakkara said that the migrant workers who imported the first 129 electric vehicles had remitted US$ 38million to the country and the government had earned Rs1060 million as customs revenue in foreign exchange.

The permit for the import of an electric vehicle was issued at a time that the nation has banned the importation of vehicles and on condition that the importer has remitted sufficient foreign exchange to meet the CIF cost of the vehicle as well as the customs duty.

He reiterated that if the government did not offer the incentive of an import permit to locals who remitted their foreign earnings to Sri Lanka when the country needed it most, the nation would have even lost the US$ 38million.