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Unholy racket in import of vehicles
The misuse of import licences issued by the Controller General of Imports and Exports is being probed after it was revealed that vehicles imported under this scheme were sold fraudulently depriving the country of revenue, Customs detectives said. The concession has been given to religious places to receive vehicles as gifts, but investigations have revealed this concession has been abused with such vehicles being sold and licences issued to non-religious places.
The Sunday Times learns that the Customs have sought an immediate clarification from the Controller General of Imports and Exports. This was after they found that not only religious places, but also individuals were being issued the import licence.“We found that in one case, a bogus company, too, had been issued a licence. On a visit to the address we found that it was only a bare land in Welisara. In another case a vehicle imported under the name of a temple was found to be registered under the name of the owner of a car service station,” one Customs detective said.
He said the vehicles imported as gifts, mainly vans from Japan, were being sold at Rs. 8-9 million. After the investigations were launched, at least 30 vehicles imported under the scheme had been seized by the Customs.However, Imports and Exports Controller General D.S.P. Senaratne said he was making use of provisions of the Import Export Act under which he could impose conditions or withdraw conditions regarding the import of vehicles.
“I am authorised to issue these licences according to my discretion in keeping with the Act. The Customs cannot intervene in these matters,” Mr. Senaratne said.
The detectives also found that under the scheme, vehicles which were much older than the stipulated period were being imported.