INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
No choice has actually been made to limit lorry imports, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) has emphasised.A senior authorities of the
Central Bank mentioned that, contrary to specific media reports, there has actually been no exchange of letters or interaction in between
the Central Bank and the Treasury relating to the restriction of vehicle imports.With the nations economy, which remained in a crisis,
beginning to recover, the import of automobiles for private usage was allowed since the start of February this year, after a lapse of 5
years.Since then, up until the end of June, approximately 18,000 vehicles have actually been imported to the nation
Of this, 13,614 lorries have actually been signed up with the Department of Motor Traffic.Accordingly, in the 5 months since February,
letters of credit worth around USD 800 million have been opened for automobile imports, and so far, lorries worth USD 450 million have been
imported.Against this background, specific media outlets had actually reported that the Central Bank and the Treasury had released warning
notifications to restrict automobile imports.When inquired by Ada Derana, a senior official from the Central Bank specified that there had
actually been no communication or exchange of letters between the Treasury and the Central Bank concerning automobile imports.Furthermore,
the senior official clarified that no guidelines or recommendations to restrict car imports had been offered by the Central Bank to the
Treasury.The official further included that the importation of cars does not impact the foreign reserves of the Central Bank, as lorry
imports are made from the dollar reserves offered in the nations commercial banking system.Currently, the Central Bank holds foreign
reserves worth USD 6.3 billion
Financial experts have actually pointed out that lorry imports do not have any impact on the Central Banks dollar reserves.Meanwhile, Ada
Derana also inquired into the market worth of the imported vehicles.Accordingly, a Suzuki Wagon R FX-S, priced at Rs
3.6 million in Japan, incurs a responsibility of Rs
3.8 million when imported to Sri Lanka
The overall expense of importing the Wagon R comes to around Rs
7.4 million, but it is sold in the open market for approximately Rs
8.6 million.A Toyota Raize 1200cc Hybrid, which costs around Rs
7.4 million in Japan, sustains a responsibility of Rs
6.4 million when imported
Appropriately, the cost of importing the Toyota Raize to Sri Lanka has to do with Rs
13.8 million, but it is offered in the local market for around Rs
16.5 million.A Honda VEZEL X design expenses Rs
8.8 million in Japan, while an import duty of Rs
9 million is imposed for each lorry
The price of importing the VEZEL X is around Rs
17.8 million, however it is sold in Sri Lanka for roughly Rs
21 million.A Toyota Hilux GR Sport design from Thailand costs Rs
15 million, and when imported to Sri Lanka, a duty of Rs
After the task, the price of importing the Toyota Hilux is roughly Rs
28.5 million, but it is cost around Rs
32 million.A Toyota Yaris Cross from Japan, worth around Rs
6.5 million, incurs a task of Rs
8.9 million when imported
The total cost of importing the Yaris Cross concerns around Rs
15.4 million, but it is sold in Sri Lanka for about Rs
19.5 million.The Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 250, valued at Rs
18 million in its country of manufacture, incurs a duty of Rs
40 million when imported to Sri Lanka
The cost of importing the Prado 250 is around Rs
58.5 million, but it is cost roughly Rs
65 million.Meanwhile, reports suggest that some vehicle importers, in offense of existing import guidelines and laws, have kept around 300
cars at the Hambantota Port
The Ministry of Finance is anticipated to go over more actions concerning these automobiles with Sri Lanka Customs and come to a decision.
