The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake – Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, the reply is as follows.

¶ 02 (a) (i) Following the unanimous determination of a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court in the Fundamental Rights case No. 569/98, which held that smoke emitted from vehicles is a primary cause of air pollution in Sri Lanka and that failure to manage it violates the fundamental right to life, the Court directed the Government to implement vehicle emission standards. Based on that directive, the Vehicle Emission Testing Programme (VETP) was initiated.

¶ 03 (ii) Commenced in the Western Province on 2008.11.17 and expanded to cover the entire island, including the Northern Province, by 2013.06.01.

¶ 04 (iii) Annual revenue by vehicle category for the year 2024: - Motorcycles – Rs. 1,946,073,510 - Motor tricycles – Rs. 762,248,450 - Motor cars – Rs. 900,697,080 - Dual-purpose vehicles – Rs. 701,191,565 - Motor lorries – Rs. 506,282,440 - Motor buses – Rs. 85,515,105 - Prime movers – Rs. 3,361,120 - Land vehicles – Rs. 126,470

¶ 05 (iv) Revenue is collected by: - Laughs Eco Sri (Pvt) Ltd - CleanCo Lanka (Pvt) Ltd

¶ 06 (b) (i) Air quality management, including reducing vehicular emissions, cannot be achieved by fragmented action and requires multi-agency coordination. To coordinate such actions and mobilize funds without burdening the Treasury, the Vehicular Emission Test Trust Fund was established.

¶ 07 (ii) Pursuant to the Supreme Court directive, a technical protocol suited to Sri Lanka for vehicle emission testing was prepared during 2000–2002 under World Bank assistance by a committee of local and foreign experts. Considering low prioritization of such environmental activities within state budgets, the committee proposed a trust-fund mechanism recognized internationally as an alternative. The Cabinet of Ministers approved commencement of the emissions testing on 2008.09.03. The Trust Deed, cleared by the Attorney General’s Department, was signed on 2009.12.27 between the Treasury Secretary (as Chair of Trustees) and five trustees: Secretaries of the Ministries of Finance, Environment, and Transport; the Commissioner General of Motor Traffic; and a representative of the Ministry of Finance. Thereafter, the Trust officially commenced.

¶ 08 (iii) The emissions testing process is not a revenue source to Government per se. However, 7.5% of the test fee is credited to the Emission Trust Fund and 17.5% is collected as Government tax (VAT 205501).

¶ 09 (iv) Yes. Total tax revenue for 2024 was Rs. 852,226,088.

¶ 10 (c) Not applicable.

¶ 11 Additionally, random and on-the-spot roadside emission tests are conducted, in addition to station-based testing. Air quality monitoring and tree-planting programmes to manage particulate emissions are also undertaken. Under the Transport Safety Programme, Rs. 604 million from the Emission Trust Fund was used to install countdown timers at key traffic light junctions in Colombo to improve compliance and reduce unnecessary idling. There have been shortcomings in contract management and supervision of testing stations, leading to malpractice in some instances. The current concession agreement expires on 31 December 2026, and we aim to introduce a more robust, transparent, and practical framework thereafter, accounting also for the growing EV fleet which will proportionally reduce testing needs.