State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya says that five companies have been identified for illegally importing gold to Sri Lanka during the year and a fine of Rs. 1,243 million has been imposed on those companies.
The state minister mentioned that a related company has been ordered to pay Rs. 179 million. Henceforth, all licensed companies that import gold products should refrain from these illegal activities, he warned.
Siyambalapitiya said that efforts are currently underway to stabilize the state income of the country by closing the loopholes related to the loss of state income.
The state minister further said that certain parties who import gold products have turned it into a big racket and there is a mafia around it.
He added that under the first phase of the government directing its attention towards this, there had been various pressure and threats exerted under various levels and that however, government is moving towards the second phase without faltering under all these challenges.
In order to prevent illegal import of gold, a special gazette notification was issued in March last year imposing restrictions on the import of gold on the instructions of President Ranil Wickramasinghe with a view to curbing gold smuggling in the country, he said.
