The Court of Appeal today (24) instructed Sri Lanka Customs to expedite the ongoing investigations regarding the engine capacity of the BYD vehicles currently being held.
Court of Appeal President, Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya, stated in open court that while Customs plays a vital role in collecting tax revenue for the national economy, the interests of vehicle buyers and importing companies must also be considered.
Due to this, the judge informed the petitioner’s party that the investigation should be concluded swiftly and that support should be extended for this process.
This statement was made during the hearing of a petition filed by John Keells CG Company, requesting an order to release the vehicles currently held by Customs.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena, appearing on behalf of Sri Lanka Customs, informed the court that the vehicles in question could potentially be released under certain conditions based on a company bond.
He emphasized that the petitioner company should cooperate with the investigation.
The Additional Solicitor General also stated that a report regarding the vehicle inspection scanning equipment imported by the petitioner company would be submitted to the court next Monday via a motion.
However, President’s Counsel Farzana Jameel, appearing for the petitioner, argued before the court that the manner in which Customs had detained the vehicles was unlawful.
Despite lengthy submissions from both the petitioner and respondent parties, no agreement was reached regarding the conditional release of the vehicles under a bond.
Accordingly, the Additional Solicitor General informed the court that a decision regarding the possibility of settling the case would be announced on 28th October. (Newswire)