Vehicle LC claim rejected by Anil Jayantha, who says only 1,782 LCs were opened before the 50% import surcharge.
Vehicle LC allegations over 4,000 imports were rejected in Parliament by Deputy Minister of Finance Anil Jayantha Fernando, who said only 1,782 vehicles had Letters of Credit opened before the tax hike.
The Deputy Minister stated that vehicle imports have significantly declined after the government imposed a 50% surcharge tax on vehicle imports.
Presenting figures, he said Letters of Credit worth US$ 23.71 million were opened on May 15, the final day before the tax was imposed.
However, he said this figure dropped to US$ 17.9 million by May 18 and further declined to US$ 14.98 million by May 19.
Fernando said the impact of import restrictions cannot be expected overnight and would take effect gradually.
He completely rejected allegations that certain companies had secretly opened LCs for 4,000 vehicles on May 15.
He emphasized that the government has not acted to unfairly benefit any company or individual.
