The Cabinet has granted approval to allow Sri Lankan migrant workers to import an electric vehicle to the 50% value of remittances sent to Sri Lanka.
Cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena said only Sri Lankan migrant workers who have made remittances via official channels will be eligible to import electric vehicles.
He told the media today (26) that Sri Lankan migrant workers will be allowed to import electric vehicles for their remittances effective from 1st May 2022 until 31st December 2023.
The minister added that the Sri Lankan migrant workers will be allowed to import two-wheelers and four-wheelers under the specified criteria of the scheme.
In June, Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara presented a proposal to the Cabinet to grant a vehicle import permit for Sri Lankan migrant workers who carry our remittances through legal channels.
Thereby, in September, the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment issued the first electric vehicle import permit under the new scheme.
Cabinet decision:
Approval of the Cabinet of Ministers has been granted by the decision on 08.08.2022 to provide identified relief with the objective of encouraging the migrant Sri Lankan employees engaged in overseas employment to send remittances through legal means.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment has issued the relevant circular in this regard and the eligible migrant employees are facilitated to import a two-wheel electric vehicle subject to a maximum of USD 25,000 and a four-wheel fully electric vehicle subject to a maximum of USD 65,000.
The concurrence of the Cabinet of Ministers has been granted for the following steps that have been taken with the objective of further encouraging the foreign exchange earned by emigrant employees to be further remitted to Sri Lanka:
- Granting approval to import a two-wheel electric vehicle with a CIF value up to 50% from the foreign exchange value remitted up to either 30.04.2023 or up to the date, an application is submitted for the import of a vehicle.
- Granting approval to import a four-wheel electric vehicle with a CIF value of up to 50% from the foreign exchange value remitted from 01.05.2022 to 31.12.2023 to this country. (NewsWire)