Sri Lanka imposes a 50% surcharge on certain imported vehicles as a temporary measure to help protect the currency from further decline. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who is also finance minister, issues a notification stating that a 50% surcharge is applied to imported goods specified in the schedule, on top of the applicable customs duty, effective May 16 for three months. The surcharge applies to car imports while excluding motorbikes and three-wheelers, according to the reports.
The government links the policy to continued depreciation of the Sri Lankan rupee against the US dollar. The rupee has weakened by more than 3% against the dollar by mid-May amid external pressures, including the ongoing conflict involving Iran, which has increased Sri Lanka’s fuel import costs and widened the fuel import bill. One report describes the measure as designed to encourage importers to delay purchases during the three-month period.
The surcharge is framed as temporary and focused on reducing the impact of currency pressure while Sri Lanka deals with higher import-related costs.
