Vehicle imports are still strictly prohibited Do not fall prey to automobile smugglers and lose both money and car: Customs warn public

• Smugglers attempt to bypass Customs regulations by packing dismantled vehicles in containers 

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana   

Do not fall prey to automobile smugglers and lose both  wealth and the car, when vehicle imports are still strictly banned in  the country! Sri Lanka Customs warned the public yesterday.    

A senior Customs official told the Daily Mirror a trend is  being observed about dismantled luxury and expensive cars being shipped  into the country in the recent past where the smugglers attempt to clear  them through the authorities by various ways and means.   

Customs Revenue Task Force (RTF) foiled several attempts to  import expensive cars dismantled and packed inside containers without  declaring to the Customs.   

The latest such attempt was thwarted yesterday when the  officials of the Customs RTF seized a reconditioned Toyota Prius in full  body shell form packed inside a 40-foot container that arrived from Japan.     

The container which had arrived at the Colombo Port in  early November was detained by the Customs on suspicion and remained  until the consignee turned up to clear the goods. Since the importer  didn’t turn up on time, the authorities summoned him and opened the  container to find the illegal goods yesterday.   

Director Customs RTF Thilak Suraweera said they have seized  a Mercedes Benz, a BMW and several hybrid cars in the last couple of  months that had arrived in containers defying regulations of both the  Customs Ordinance and the Import and Export Control licence.   

The government ban imposed on vehicle imports since 2020 is  still effective and all sorts of vehicle imports (except for the  exemption on certain essential vehicle classes) or brought in sans  declaring to the Customs is a punishable offence.   

“The public is prone to purchase imported vehicles for  relatively cheaper rates and usually imported vehicles come with cheaper  rates as they were smuggled into the country.   

If somebody buys an imported car from a dubious source, the  person has a grave risk of losing both the money and the vehicle, as the  authorities would definitely confiscate such an automobile,” Suraweera  said.   
The seized car had been valued at Rs.1.2 million. The Customs RTF is conducting inquiries.          

• Customs have seized  a Mercedes Benz, a BMW and several hybrid cars