The Hon. Nishantha Jayaweera - Deputy Minister of Economic Development
On behalf of the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Nishantha Jayaweera answered a question on vehicle imports and related taxation, stating that 451,770 motor vehicles had been imported and listing the applicable tax instruments, including Customs Duty, VAT, Excise, Luxury Tax, and the Ports and Airports Development Levy. He said motor vehicles are taxed by HS classification and engine capacity under specified gazettes, and reported that by 31 December 2025 realized revenue from key vehicle-related taxes was Rs. 904 billion against an estimate of Rs. 441 billion. He also stated that 22,407 three-wheelers and 313,989 motorcycles had been imported, with taxes applied under the relevant HS headings and gazetted tariff codes.
Verbatim record (translated)
Machine-translated from Sinhala / Tamil / English¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, on behalf of the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, I provide the following answers.
¶ 02 (a) (i) 451,770.
¶ 03 (ii) Applicable taxes and their instruments are as follows: - Customs Duty: Customs Ordinance; Gazettes 2324/49 (24.03.2023), 2436/10 (15.05.2025), 2452/03 (01.09.2025). - Surcharge on Customs Duty: Customs Ordinance; Gazettes 2421/43 (31.01.2025), 2434/03 (28.04.2025). - Value Added Tax: Value Added Tax (Amendment) Act, No. 32 of 2023; Gazette 2363/22 (19.12.2023). - Vehicle Entitlement Levy: Act No. 35 of 2018 (not applicable; effective from 01.01.2019). - Excise (Special Provisions) on motor vehicles. - Luxury Tax on Motor Vehicles. - Ports and Airports Development Levy.
¶ 04 Accordingly, motor vehicles are classified under HS Headings 87.02, 87.03, 87.04 and 87.05; the specific tax amounts applicable against each tariff code and engine capacity are as specified in the said Gazettes and are levied accordingly.
¶ 05 (iii) Estimated and realized revenue (Rs. billion), as at 31.12.2025: - Customs Duty and Surcharges: Estimated 66; Realized 148 - VAT on imports: Estimated 132; Realized 234 - Excise on motor vehicles: Estimated 230; Realized 461 - Luxury Tax: Estimated 1; Realized — - Ports and Airports Levy: Estimated 2; Realized — - Total: Estimated 441; Realized 904
¶ 06 (b) (i) Three-wheelers: 22,407; Motorcycles: 313,989.
¶ 07 (ii) Three-wheelers are classified under HS 87.03; applicable taxes are as per the Gazettes for the respective tariff codes.
¶ 08 (iii) Motorcycles are classified under HS 87.11; applicable taxes are as per the Gazettes for the respective tariff codes.
¶ 09 (c) Does not arise.
Provenance
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- Hansard, Tuesday, 20 January 2026 ·No. 23200 ·English daily/uncorrected Hansard
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Cite as: The Hon. Nishantha Jayaweera - Deputy Minister of Economic Development. 10th Parliament, Parliament of Sri Lanka. Hansard, 20 January 2026. No. 23200. Politick, https://staging.politick.io/lk/speeches/8932