Hundreds of vehicles Illegally imported and registered Causing Rs.5Bn loss to Govt.

• More than 400 vehicles had been imported to Sri Lanka in this manner and have been registered illegally  

By Darshana Sanjeewa Balasuriya  

Sri Lanka Customs, the Bribery Commission and the Department of Motor Traffic have uncovered a massive organized fraud that has incurred a loss of more than Rs. 5 billion in revenue to the government through illegal import of vehicles and their illegal registrations.   

It has been revealed that this racket had been going on for a long time and more than 400 vehicles had been imported to Sri Lanka in this manner and have been registered illegally.   
This was revealed following an investigation conducted into the “Mini Cooper” type vehicle, which was taken into custody by the Bribery Commission after being imported to Sri Lanka using forged documents.  

The vehicle, bearing number KE-3845 was imported to Sri Lanka without the clearance of the Sri Lanka Customs and falsely entered into the computer system of the Motor Transport Department, causing a loss to the Government in excess of Rs.2.5 million.   

When the facts were submitted to the Colombo Chief Magistrate, the Bribery Commission informed court that the said vehicle was brought to Sri Lanka using fake documents in 2007 and registered as a three-wheeler in 2015.