Sri Lanka Customs collects 550 mln USD in vehicle import taxes after lifting five-year ban

Alsharq Tribune-AFP 

Sri Lanka Customs has earned around 165 billion rupees (about 550 million U.S. dollars) in taxes from vehicle imports so far in 2025, local media reported on Friday, quoting Additional Director General of Customs Seevali Arukgoda as saying.

Sri Lanka lifted a five-year ban on vehicle imports on Feb. 1, 2025. Since then, around 14,000 vehicles have been imported, Arukgoda said.

The agency expects to make about 450 billion rupees from these imports this year, he said.

He added that the agency is on track to surpass its revenue target for 2025, which is 2,115 billion rupees.

By mid-June, Sri Lanka Customs had already collected around 900 billion rupees, he said. (1 Sri Lankan rupee equals 0.0033 U.S. dollars)