Sri Lanka Cuts Import Duty & VAT on Buses & Trucks. Value Added Tax Lifted on Solar Cells & PV Panels

10th January 2012, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka has cut import duties on buses, trucks and engines, which will help improve the standard of tourist and commuter services in the island the finance ministry said in a statement.

The state has also lifted a custom import duty charged on imported lorry bodies and tyres for lorries and busses by 50 percent, the finance ministry said. It was not clear what the existing tax rates were.

Sri Lanka's customs office in a statement posted on its website said from January 01, value added taxes on buses, lorries and trucks were also lifted giving effect to a proposal on the 2012 budget.

Other items from which value added taxes were lifted, raw material used for spectacles and frames, sunglasses, perfumes, sports equipment, speakers and digital cinema equipment, photo sensitive semiconductor devices.

Value added tax on spares for poultry industry, sawn wood, mammoties, forks, moulding (steel, glass, rubber, plastic), machinery for rubber and plastic industries, greenhouses and poly tunnels.

Related Info :

• New Vehicle Registrations in Sri Lanka up by 55pct in June 2011

• Sri Lanka Increases Taxes on Imported Vehicles

• Solar Energy Can Free Sri Lanka's Dependence on Fossil Fuels - Kanagalingam Gnanalingam, Rtrd Additional General Manager of Ceylon Electricity Board

Sri Lanka Custom's ASYCUDA Automated Cargo Clearance System Leads to Paperless Clearing from January 1st

20th December 2009, www.dailynews.lk, By Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

Sri Lanka Customs has gradually upgraded the IT based clearing system with the introduction of the ASYCUDA automated cargo clearance system.

This will lead to a paperless clearing system.

It will automate manifest and payment systems to facilitate all imports and exports from January 1, 2010, Customs Director-General, Sarath Jayathilake told Daily News Business.

The process will initiate a new beginning in automation of Customs functions with plans to become 100 percent electronic next year. All other documentation will be automated during this period, he said. The process would enable exporters and importers to operate from their offices and to track down the entry process to ascertain the stage - held up or being processed.

The system will ensure efficiency and it will be time saving for the benefit of the end user, he said. The most important features of these developments were based on the priorities of the cargo clearance and accounting system.

"We have now come to a stage that the total package of Customs imports and exports clearance including the various controls and facilitation action could be perform through one system effectively and timely manner, Jayathilake said.

The implementation of ASYCUDA World application provides door-to-door facility through Information Technology and could be used for accurate cargo accounting with high level of revenue collection and also a solution for maintaining high level of integrity.

Image: Customs Director-General, Sarath Jayathilake

Customs to Implement ASYCUDA World (AW) System in Sri Lanka

28th October 2009, www.dailynews.lk, By Ramani Kangaraarachchi

Sri Lanka Customs will implement the ASYCUDA World (AW) System which is the latest UNCTAD ASYCUDA software from January 1, Customs Director General S.A.C.S.W Jayathilake said at the introductory seminar on AW at Cinamon Lakeside Hotel yesterday.

He said the implementation of AW application which provides door to door facility through IT, is the main topic discussed at present. Sri Lanka Customs has come to a stage where the total package of Customs imports and exports clearance including various controls and facilitation have to be done through one system.

However, procedures and applications need much simplification according to international standards and the compliance level of all stakeholders.

The best method to implement AW will be discussed with past experience, Jayathilake said. Speed, low cost and transparency are the key factors for the success of the system and maintaining the right balance with trade and policies will continue to be the challenge, he said.

He said, effective planning and monitoring, consultation with all stakeholders, proper coordination and commitment and latest technology would help overcome this challenge, but the system must be reviewed from time to time to improve efficiency.

Customs Director, PA Dias said AW is a web based system with several additional features and Sri Lanka Customs is planning to expand the electronic lodgement to 100 percent from the present 25 percent. Priority has been given for submission of electronic manifests and the necessasity of hard copies will be minimized under the new system.

Customs Superintendent M.R Rajmohan said the re-engineered e-Customs process will have a number of benefits such as ability to submit 100 percent electronic cusdecs, avoid key-in at Long room, availability of fully automated E-processing for green entries, reducing number of cusdec from five to two, and reduce the number of manifest copies from seven to one and availability of customs third eye supervision.

UNCTAD-ASYCUDA Regional Coordinator for Asia Pacific, Renaud Masenet also made a presentation on e-Customs.

Photo: Customs Director General S.A.C.S.W Jayathilake