The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the appointment of a committee to provide temporary monitoring relief and introduce a long-term regulatory framework for e-commerce activities.
According to the government, the new committee will comprise officers in relevant institutions.
The government states that the volume of imports to Sri Lanka through cross-border e-commerce has increased with the rapid growth of e-commerce activities in the country.
As such, the government believes the necessary regulations must be introduced for the collection of tax income from e-commerce activities that could provide special economic benefits.
Identifying certain shortcomings in the customs clearance procedure followed regarding imports across e-commerce platforms, the government amended the customs clearance procedure of Sri Lanka Customs.
However, the delays, escalating transaction costs, disruption of public trust, decline in transparency and predictions regarding prices caused due to the execution of those amendments have created unrest among e-commerce platform users, especially individual commuters and small-scale importers.
Accordingly, the Cabinet has approved the proposal by the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, to appoint a committee to provide temporary monitoring relief and introduce a long-term regulatory framework for e-commerce activities. (Newswire)