Vehicles were charged a customs duty of 30% but several other taxes make the effective import tax on a car more than 100%.
COLOMBO: Sri Lanka slapped a 50% surcharge on customs duties on vehicles Saturday in a bid to discourage imports and ease currency pressure stemming from the Middle East conflict.
The increase in taxes comes as the local rupee has sharply depreciated since the start of US and Israeli attacks on Iran, which prompted retaliation by Tehran.
“Given the current pressure on foreign exchange, we want people to delay their imports by three months,” junior finance minister Anil Jayantha Fernando told reporters in Colombo. Vehicles were charged a customs duty of 30% but several other taxes make the effective import tax on a car more than 100%.
Sri Lanka has increased energy prices by more than a third since the start of the Middle East war and has rationed diesel and petrol in a bid to reduce the import bill. Official figures show that Sri Lanka’s rupee has depreciated by 4.5% against the dollar so far this year. Central Bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe told a parliamentary panel last week that the rupee would continue to slide unless global oil prices fell or Sri Lanka slashed energy imports.
Sri Lanka is emerging from its worst economic meltdown in 2022, when it ran out of foreign exchange to finance even the most essential imports such as food, fuel and medicines. Since then, the country has been under a US$2.9 billion IMF bailout programme.
Customs Duty Economic Crisis Fuel Prices IMF Bailout Import Taxes Middle East Rupee Decline Sri Lanka Vehicle Imports
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
India's Capital Imposes Fuel-Saving Measures Amid Middle East War DisruptionsNew Delhi announces work-from-home days for government employees and other austerity measures to reduce fuel consumption and support the economy after Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls for reduced consumption due to the Middle East war.
Read more »
ICW Borneo 2026: Regional Construction Industry Event in East MalaysiaThe International Construction Week (ICW) Borneo 2026 was officially launched in Kota Kinabalu this week, marking the second edition of the regional construction industry event focusing on industry development, technical discussions and engagement with stakeholders in East Malaysia. The inaugural edition of the event was held last year in Kuching, Sarawak.
Read more »
India hikes fuel prices as Middle East war strains supplies, first rise since FebruaryNew Delhi, May 15 — India’s state-run oil companies raised petrol and diesel prices by more than three per cent today as disruption to energy supplies due to the Iran war...
Read more »
Middle East war latest developments: Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire despite fresh violencePARIS, May 16 — Here are the latest developments in the Middle East war:Israel, Lebanon extend ceasefire Lebanon and Israel yesterday extended a ceasefire for 45 days, despite a...
Read more »