The Court of Appeal on Tuesday said it will reconvene on August 7 to further review a petition filed seeking the release of nearly 1,000 BYD electric vehicles currently held by Sri Lanka Customs.
The petition, filed by John Keells CD Auto Pvt. Ltd., claims that the decision by Customs to detain the vehicles is unlawful. Lawyers, appearing on behalf of the petitioner, argued that the vehicles could be released under a bank guarantee and that the detainment violated legal procedure.
Appearing for Sri Lanka Customs, Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena PC informed court that 997 vehicles remain under detention. A committee of experts from Moratuwa and Peradeniya universities, along with engineers from BYD, will be appointed to determine the motor capacity—whether it is 100 kW or 150 kW—a key factor in calculating import duties.
Dharmawardena further told the court that a proposal was under consideration to release all but six of the vehicles, pending the deposit of revised duty amounts in the Customs Director General’s account as a security measure.
The court instructed the petitioner to respond to this proposal at the next hearing. (Newswire)