NEWS & EVENTS

The excise duty rates that prevailed before the presentation of Budget 2016 will be applicable to vehicle imports which had Letters of Credit (LC) opened on or before November 20. The new regulations which are to be gazetted this week, will only be applicable to vehicles imported for private use, Treasury officials said. “We have done this to be fair by the individuals who opened LC before the presentation of the budget without expecting any changes,” said Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, who presented a Cabinet proposal last week to get the regulation approved. All private importers will have time only till March 31 this year to import the vehicle and register them with the Registrar of Motor vehicles (RMV). “The LC has to be in the owner’s name after it is cleared from the customs. The RMV registration will also have to be under the same name,” an official preparing the regulations said. The Treasury will send instructions to the RMV to not register any vehicles cleared under the previous excise duty rates, under a different name to that which appears on the LC, the official said. Demurrage charges on the vehicles which have not been cleared from customs due to the confusion over taxes will be waived off, the official said. Instructions to this effect will be sent to the customs this week. Over 3,000 vehicles are being held in the customs’ yard as importers have delayed clearance with the expectation of changes in tax regulations, Customs Department spokesman Lesly Gamini said. No demurrage charge will apply to these vehicles if they fall into the said category. Importers who have already cleared their vehicles paying duty under the new regulations will be able to get a refund on the excess amounts paid, the official said.