Vehicle import restrictions to be lifted in stages from Oct. 1

Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Finance Shehan Semasinghe says that the Cabinet of Minister has decided to allow the import of vehicles under several stages starting from October 01. 

 He stated that restrictions on importing public transport vehicles will be removed from October 01, 2024 while the restrictions on importing commercial and goods transport vehicles will be lifted from December 01, 2024. 

 Meanwhile, the restrictions on importing other passenger vehicles, including cars, will be removed from February 01, 2025, the state minister revealed. Earlier today, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said that the Cabinet decided to lift all vehicle import restrictions by February 2025.

 ”With the significant improvement in forex reserves and the strength of the rupee, the Cabinet of Ministers has decided to lift all vehicle import ban/restrictions by February 2025,” he said. 

 ”This decision is part of our ongoing efforts to restore normalcy in the economy and meet the needs of our people,” the minister had said in a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter). 

 The government of Sri Lanka had decided to suspend vehicle imports in 2021 due to the economic crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic.  

As the severe economic crisis continued to persist, authorities decided to further continue with the restrictions on vehicle imports. Meanwhile, in June, the Ministry of Finance had announced a plan to gradually lift the restrictions by 2025.