The Hon. Sajith Premadasa - Leader of the Opposition

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, regarding the committee report of the investigation into news that 323 import containers were released without customs inspection, paragraph 3 of conclusion 4 states: “If this process had been carried out in good faith for the purpose of easing the container congestion, all divisions of the Department of Customs should have been duly informed of this procedure and, after containers left the customs premises, the other Customs investigation divisions could have inspected them so as to minimize the risks that could have arisen from not physically examining the containers classified as ‘red’.”

¶ 02 From this conclusion it appears the entire process was not carried out in good faith. Treating this as a nationally important matter, I raise the following:

¶ 03 1. What are the reasons for not making public the report handed over by the President on 2025.06.12 regarding the 323 containers? When will the Government make the full report public? It should be presented officially by the Government, not by an MP.

¶ 04 2. It was reported that in late 2024 and early 2025, due to severe port congestion, vessels were turned away and a committee chaired by a Minister was appointed to resolve it. Was such a committee appointed? What were its recommendations and what actions were taken?

¶ 05 3. Was there pressure from the line Minister or the Government to release containers labelled not only ‘red’ but also ‘yellow’ without proper inspection? Or pressure from importers?

¶ 06 4. From which countries did these 323 containers originate? Can a list of contents and the importing entities be presented to the House? The report’s page 14 notes that before releasing 3009 containers, on 13 occasions 2,218 containers were released without physical examination, including 999 ‘red’ and 1,219 ‘yellow’. We expect clear answers.

¶ 07 5. Has the Government ensured that proper duties are levied on the containers that bypassed Customs inspection? What proof is there?

¶ 08 6. On 2025.01.23, the Deputy Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation said at a media briefing that if imported containers contained narcotics or illegal items, the Government would take responsibility. Is this statement still valid, given contradictory statements by Ministers?

¶ 09 7. What actions has the Government taken in line with the 12 recommendations proposed by the committee?

¶ 10 8. Have investigations and legal action commenced? What is the progress? Can the Government absolve itself of responsibility? If political authorities are responsible, what actions will be taken?

¶ 11 9. What policy or legal reforms are proposed to prevent recurrence?