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Minister pushes for duty-free vehicle permits for ex-PC members
View(s):The Cabinet is to be asked for a third time to approve duty free vehicles for the now defunct Provincial Council members.
Public Administration and Home Affairs Minister Vajira Abeywardena is re-submitting a memorandum for the third time on the grounds that some former councillors have already got their permits.
The Ministry is justifing the issuing of the duty-free vehicle permits on the ground that the former Northern Provincial Council members and some former Southern Provincial Council members had already received the permits. Thus, the ministry say it will be unfair to deny this facility to other council members.
At present, the terms of eight of the nine provincial councils have lapsed. The Uva PC’s term will lapse next month.
Under the proposal, Cabinet approval is sought to grant duty-free permits to PC members who have been in office for at least two and half years and have not obtained a duty free permit in the previous five years.
However, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera in his observations noted that all PCs, except the Uva PC, had already come to the end of their term and thus reintroducing the vehicle permits on concessionary terms after expiration of the PCs or for the benefit of the Uva Council exclusively at the end of its term would be a bad precedence and discrimination among the equals.
In 2013, the Government had decided to grant duty free permits to PC members in active service, but under a 2016 budget proposal, the importation of motor vehicles on concessionary terms was suspended.
The Sunday Times learns that some of the former PC members have made representation to Minister Abeywardena saying they were in debt by spending money on their election campaigns and therefore they required the permit.
Mr Abeywardena said he present their case at the next Cabinet meeting to obtain duty free permits for ex-PC members as already a section of them had obtained the benefits.