The Hon. (Dr.) Harsha de Silva

¶ 01 Report of the Committee on Public Finance

¶ 02 Hon. Speaker, I lay on the Table the Report of the Committee on Public Finance relating to:

¶ 03 (i) Regulations under Section 20 read with Sections 4(1) and 14 of the Imports and Exports (Control) Act, No. 1 of 1969 as amended by Acts No. 48 of 1985 and No. 28 of 1987 (published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2428/07 of 19th March 2025); (ii) Order under Section 2(1) of the Monetary Law Act, No. 25 of 2003 (published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2421/30 of 31st January 2025); (iii) Notice relating to the Luxury Tax on Motor Vehicles under Section 19 read with Section 51 of the Finance Act, No. 35 of 2018 (published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2421/41 of 31st January 2025); and (iv) As amended, Order relating to Excise Duty under Section 3 of the Excise (Special Provisions) Act, No. 13 of 1989 (published in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2421/42 of 31st January 2025).

¶ 04 Ordered to lie upon the Table.

¶ 05 Hon. Speaker, very briefly, three points:

¶ 06 First, the departure tax at Mattala Airport—USD 30 on departure and USD 30 on arrival—has not been levied since 2022. The proposal is to continue without charging it, allowing passengers to travel freely. However, there is a policy issue. Given the significant debt incurred for Mattala Airport and ongoing liabilities, a policy decision on its operation is needed. We have recommended a review.

¶ 07 Second, regarding luxury tax thresholds for vehicles: due to currency depreciation, the exemption thresholds are being adjusted to align with vehicle values in the Rs. 5 million to Rs. 6 million range.

¶ 08 Finally, comparing taxes relative to CIF value between petrol/diesel vehicles and electric vehicles, the current tax on electric vehicles is insufficient. Therefore, this measure increases the tax on EVs so that, although still lower than for petrol and diesel, it is higher than at present.

¶ 09 Thank you.