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Japanese bikes will roar again after tax slash
View(s):Prices of small trucks and single cabs are to come down by as much as Rs. 300,000 following the vehicle tax revisions announced on Thursday, while there will also be a substantial reduction in the prices of motorcycles, especially Japanese bikes below 150cc.
Vehicle importers said they would be able to once again import Japanese motorbikes after the tax concessions. Many had been unable to do so thus far due to the 90 percent valuation duty imposed on motorcycles. The duty was removed on Thursday. Under the revised structure, the motorcycle duty will be based on the engine capacity, provided they are less than 150cc.
“We have not been importing Japanese bikes since the previous duty valuation came into effect. The cost was far too high,” Indika Sampath Merinchige, President of the Vehicle Importers’ Association of Sri Lanka told the Sunday Times. “As such, with these tax concessions, the people will again be able to purchase good quality Japanese products and the market share of Japanese vehicles will increase.”
Describing the move to revise vehicle taxes as a “good beginning,” Mr Merinchige said they hoped the Government would revise vehicle taxes further in the upcoming budget given that prices of many vehicles after taxes made them out of reach for most people.
Prasad Kulathunga, an importer of Japanese vehicles, said he still did not foresee a big market for Japanese motorbikes. “While the removal of the 90 percent duty is most welcome, prices of Japanese motorbikes, given their better quality, will still be a lot higher than those imported from India,” he said. As such, he said they did not hold out high hopes of a large vehicle market for Japanese motorbikes.
Meanwhile, the Finance Ministry yesterday clarified that the removal of the 10 percent Telecommunications Levy imposed on data services would apply to both prepaid and postpaid customers.
A Ministry official said the removal of the levy, effective from September 1, applied to both services as part of the tax concessions announced by Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera.