Sri Lanka’s parliamentarians, provincial people’s representatives and senior government officials are in for a bonanza: They get duty free /duty slashed vehicle import permits once again following the government’s recent decision to withdraw the 2016 budget proposal to scrap the permit system.  The relevant circular to grant this facility again while increasing the permit value [...]

The Sunday Times Sri Lanka

Back again duty free/duty slashed vehicle permit for MPs and officials

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Sri Lanka’s parliamentarians, provincial people’s representatives and senior government officials are in for a bonanza: They get duty free /duty slashed vehicle import permits once again following the government’s recent decision to withdraw the 2016 budget proposal to scrap the permit system.  The relevant circular to grant this facility again while increasing the permit value and reducing the tax of duty slashed permits for MPS and officials has been issued by the Treasury, officials said.  A senior Treasury official told the Business Times that the government will lose more than Rs. 80 billion annually through the re-introduction of this vehicle permit scheme.

Under the duty free permit system, an MP was entitled to a duty free permit every five years. Public officials also were entitled to duty slashed permits every five years. Senior government officials, on retirement, were entitled to a tax slashed vehicle.  According to the new circular a motor vehicle imported by a MP under a permit issued by the Secretary of the line Ministry of the subject is entitled to import a vehicle with Cost Insurance Freight (CIF) value of the vehicle not exceeding US$ 62,500 or Euro 55,000 or Japanese Yen 7.0 million.  The ceiling on vehicle permits for parliamentarians has been increased to $62,500 from $50,000 under this circular.

The value of executive grade public officer’s duty slashed permits has also been increased to $35,000 from $25,000 while reducing the tax to 40 per cent from 65 per cent. The Cabinet of ministers has already approved this decision.  Some 1,000 Public and Provincial Council officials will get the opportunity to obtain this facility.  The ceiling for vehicle permits for retired higher grade or secretary level officials has been increased to $45,000 and the tax on such vehicles further slashed to 25 per cent from 45 per cent.  The review of the budget proposal came as the Government Medical Officers Association (GMOA) and the Sri Lanka Administrative Service Association (SLASA) backed by 15 other unions which represented the higher strata in the public service strongly protested against the withdrawal of the duty slashed permit system for public officials.

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