(REVISED) GAZETTE NO. 2184/21 DATED 16TH JULY 2020, ISSUED UNDER IMPORTS AND EXPORTS (CONTROL) ACT NO. 1 OF 1969 (“Gazette”)
The regulations stipulated in the Gazette cited as the “Imports and Exports (Control) Regulations No. 04 of 2020”, are a set of revised measures issued by the Government of Sri Lanka by repealing certain regulations of the previously published Gazettes (No. 2176/19 dated 22nd May 2020, and No. 2182/10 dated 30th June 2020).
Accordingly, the regulations prescribed in the current Gazette shall only be effective for the importation of goods which are loaded on or after 17th July 2020.
The following changes have been imposed on the importation of certain selected items including raw materials referred in Schedule I and II of the said Gazette;
- Schedule I : Sri Lanka Customs and Commercial Banks are obliged to suspend the facilitation of importation of the items stipulated in Schedule I under the payment terms relating to Letter of Credit (LC), Documents against Acceptance (DA), Documents against Payment (DP), Advance Payment and a combination of these, from 17th July 2020 until further notice.
| Type of Item/material | Regulation applying to the importation such item/material | Procedure |
|---|---|---|
| Any raw material, which is not locally available and is required for a local manufacturing product, which has a local value addition of 35% or above. | Raw material is allowed to be imported if it is not available locally under a minimum 30 day credit facility. | Submission of a recommendation from the Ministry of Industries and Supply Chain Management to SL Customs, by the importer, in order to clear items |
| Agricultural Items | Only the Agricultural items stipulated under the HS codes of the headings 07.02-07.09, 07.13, 07.14, 08.01-08.07, 08.10, 08.11, 10.06, 10.08, 11.02-11.06, 12.02, 12.07 and 12.08 are permitted to be imported. (Pls refer the link (Schedule I) : https://srilanka.ahk.de/aktuelles/news-details/revised-import-regulations-dated-16-july-2020 |
Submission of a recommendation from the Department of Agriculture is required by the importer |
| Items required for projects approved under Section 17 of the Board of Investment (BOI) Act - Items for the local market for projects approved under Section17 (BOI) Act. |
Items listed in schedule I, which are not mentioned in the negative list issued by the Ministry of Finance, Economics and Policy Development, to be imported only on a minimum 90 day credit facility provided by the foreign supplier where the direct foreign investments of investors are not involved. | Importation of these items required for such projects should take place only on the approval obtained under Section 17 of the BOI Act. |
| Items required for projects approved under Section 17 of the Board of Investment (BOI) Act - Items required for flagship projects approved under Section 17 of the BOI Act. |
Items listed in schedule I, which are not mentioned in the negative list issued by the Ministry of Finance, Economics and Policy Development are permitted to be imported. | Importation to take place under direct foreign investments, and loans of local banks shall not be used for such importation. |
| Items required for projects approved under Section 17 of the Board of Investment (BOI) Act - Items required for projects approved by Section 17 of the BOI Act expected to commence commercial operations before 31st October 2020. |
The said items should fall in the category where credit facilities cannot be obtained from suppliers. | Importation to take place only upon the approval of the Board of Directors of the BOI in terms of the agreement entered with the BOI by the party executing such project. |
- Schedule II : Importation of items listed in Schedule II, which are shipped/chartered
targeting the local market to be affected only on a minimum 90 day credit of foreign currency deposits in local banks from 17th July 2020, until further notice.
However, IT/Communication equipment, vehicle parts, air conditioners, refrigerators, cement, sugar and palm oil are permitted to be imported on a minimum 180 day credit facility provided by the foreign supplier from the loading date of such goods, or on the availability of foreign currency in local banks.
In the event any required raw material (which is not locally available) for a locally manufactured product with a local value addition of 35% or above is to be imported, it shall be done under a 30 day credit facility
Violation of the provisions set out in the regulations of the Gazette
- Where a bank acts in violation of the provisions: The head of the Department of Foreign Exchange and the Controller General of Imports and Exports of such circumstance shall take necessary action as provided by Law once they have been notified by the Director General of Customs, along with documentary evidence of such violation.
- Where the declarant/importer acts in violation of the provisions: The Director General of Customs and the Controller General of Imports and Exports have the authority to take necessary action as provided by the Law and as per the approval obtained in accordance with the concurrence given to the Ministry of finance, economic and policy development by the President on the recommendation of the Tariff Committee.