Duty free vehicle permits for top Buddhist priests among others
View(s):At least 20,000 duty free vehicle permits are to be issued this year following removal of 3-year restriction imposed on transferring duty-free vehicle permits, motor traders alleged.
They said that some of these permits have already been issued to Chief Buddhist priests, Ayurvedic doctors, and army officers, apart from senior public servants.
Normally only senior public servants (outside parliamentarians) are eligible for these permits, and no one knows as to how the Buddhist priests and others are also receiving this benefit, the sources said.
The government’s move will drain foreign reserves when opening Letters of Credit to import luxury vehicles, they said.
The value of these permits range from US$ 330,000 to $350,000 and some top monks were given permits with highest value, they revealed.
However Finance Ministry officials say around 10,000 vehicle permits have been issued by the ministry since 2010 up to now and it plans to issue an average of 5000 permits per year in the future.
They noted that Chief Buddhist priests or Ayurvedic doctors are not entitled to this benefit and the Ministry has not issued any permit for them.
Senior public officers entitled to a duty free vehicle are permitted to import one in every five years.
However economic analysts were of the view that by removing the 3-year restriction under the 2013 budget the Sri Lankan government has regularized the earlier illicit practice of selling permits of duty-slashed vehicles of senior public servants and duty -free vehicles of parliamentarians to others.
(BS)
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