The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe
Wasantha Samarasinghe addressed allegations or concerns regarding taxes on coconut oil imports, citing Customs data over four months across several HS codes with a total customs value of about Rs. 36.6 billion. He stated that import duties are collected at entry and VAT applies when refined products are sold domestically, and said the issue has also been referred to Plantation Industries due to food security concerns linked to imports equivalent to about 200 million coconuts. He invited details of any company alleged to have committed fraud, noting that the Prime Minister has referred the matter to relevant agencies and that investigations are proceeding.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Madam Deputy Chairperson, on vehicle permits—no need to be upset because Ranil Wickremesinghe did not issue permits.
¶ 02 On coconut oil taxes: over the last four months I obtained details from Sri Lanka Customs on coconut oil imports, including crude under HS 1513.21.00 and bulk under 1513.19.10, as well as virgin and other codes (1513.11.11, 1513.11.19, 1513.11.29, 1513.19.10, 1513.19.90, 1513.21.00, 1513.29.00). The total customs value was about Rs. 36.6 billion. There is one set of duties at import, and if refined and sold domestically, VAT is due—that is correct. If you have further information, please provide it. As you noted, the matter was also referred to Plantation Industries because we are reviewing food security implications: to meet domestic and export needs, the country has had to import coconut equivalent to about 200 million nuts. Customs collects import duties accordingly. Please share details of any company that committed fraud; we will investigate. The Prime Minister has already referred the matter to the relevant agencies, and we are proceeding with inquiries. This Government will not protect thieves nor allow theft.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Wednesday, 19 March 2025 ·No. 1748499233099643 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Wasantha Samarasinghe. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 19 March 2025. No. 1748499233099643. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/25237