Illegal vehicle imports:

Government crackdown soon

Import of vehicle parts to be restricted:

The Government will introduce a special program soon to nab vehicles imported illegally, a release issued by the Presidential Secretariat said yesterday.

The Transport Ministry jointly with the Department of Motor Traffic, Finance Ministry, Sri Lanka Customs and the Police will soon develop this mechanism to net these vehicle importers who resort to a number of ploys to import vehicles illegally to evade import duty.

The import of vehicle parts to assemble vehicles in the country will be restricted in the future. This program includes the identification of such illegal vehicles on the road and registration of them with the Motor Traffic Department. The vehicles carrying garage numbers would be banned from plying on the roads as an urgent measure.

This ban is applicable to all vehicle users regardless of their status.

The country loses a colossal money as tax revenue when vehicles are imported in parts to evade taxes.

These vehicles are on the road under forged registration numbers, the statement added.

The statement said that wearing the seat belt has been made compulsory for the drivers of vehicles which carry vehicle numbers beginning from English letters. Regulations relating to the use of mobile phones while driving are to be fully implemented soon under this program.