An extraordinary gazette notification has been issued regarding the import of vehicles. It was issued by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development. Steps have been taken to issue this extraordinary gazette notification under the Import and Export Controller Regulation Act, 1969.
Accordingly, the Director of Customs has been granted permission to release vehicles for which letters of credit were issued under the regulations of the Import and Export Controller from December 18, 2024 to January 27, this year. Also, vehicles can be imported from December 18, 2024 to July 31, 2025.
In order to sell the imported motor vehicle, it must be registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles in the name of the relevant buyer within 90 days.
The gazette notification states that the importer or buyer must submit relevant documents including the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) for vehicle registration.
The import restrictions are thus relaxed for only a few vehicles that are subject to import restrictions under the relevant regulations.
Persons other than vehicle importers registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles can import only one vehicle in a year.
If any vehicle importer imports more than 25% of the approved number of vehicles in a period of 06 months up to December 2025, such an importer will be banned from importing vehicles for at least 3 years.
Vehicles imported in violation of the relevant regulations and not in compliance with the regulations related to the import of motor vehicles must be re-exported by the relevant importer at his own expense within 90 days. It is also noteworthy that.
The gazette notification is as follows,
