Only vehicles used for the tourism sector have been allowed to import, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya has clarified.

Speaking to the media, Siyambalapitiya expressed that the Cabinet of Ministers approved the import of 250 buses and 750 vans intended for the tourism industry.

“With the foreign exchange issue in the country, we restricted the import of vehicles. But in the tourism industry, vehicles older than 6 years cannot be used. Now the vehicles are getting old. That is why the Cabinet of Ministers decided to bring 250 buses and 750 vans for the tourism industry. Only 1000 vehicles are imported”, he added.

At its meeting on April 01, the Cabinet of Ministers green-lighted a proposal tabled by Tourism Minister Harin Fernando to allow importing a total of 1,000 buses and vans to improve the transportation facilities provided to tourists.

As per the proposal, 6-15-seater vans, as well as 16-30-seater (small) buses and 30-45-seater (large) buses are planned to be imported, without any special tax relief.

The approval was given after taking into account the unsatisfactory and insufficient conditions of the vehicles currently used in the tourism industry, despite the fact that vehicles engaged in the industry for tourist transportation should not be used for more than 6 years.

The government earlier said that the fame earned by Sri Lanka as a prominent tourist destination is tarnished due to the usage of age-old vehicles as a result of the limitation of vehicles and essential spare parts.