News
Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association asks Govt. to stop importing older buses
View(s):A motor trade organisation has expressed concerns over Sri Lanka’s existing policy of importing buses up to ten years old. Accordingly, the Ceylon Motor Traders’ Association (CMTA) has called on the Government to revise its policy.
Last week import restrictions imposed for commercial vehicles and buses were relaxed by the Government.
While lifting the restrictions is an extremely good approach, the CMTA noted that according to Sri Lanka’s current import policy, transport buses up to ten years old are imported.
It further noted that while the cost price of these buses may be comparatively cheaper, they require more maintenance and repairs and are less fuel efficient. Thereby in hindsight, they are not effective in an economical or environmental sense, neither are they of good quality when compared to newer buses.
Furthermore, a bus that was ten years old would have travelled about a million kilometres, the organisation said.
Buses, like other machines, were designed with a limited lifetime. A bus that had travelled one million kilometres had already reached a good portion of the mileage expected of it before it could no longer be used and it was ready to be taken off the roads or recycled.
Considering these factors, and considering Sri Lanka’s financial position, it would be optimal to alter the policy of importing buses up to five years old, instead of ten years, the CMTA said.
The importation of commercial vehicles and two-wheeler vehicles may be more useful to the people now, it added, and also highlighted the importance of public transport.
Although there were several positive effects in the decision to relax import restrictions, stockpiling and an excessive foreign currency outflow was a potential risk. In view of this, the CMTA recommended applying higher duties initially and gradually reducing the duties over time.
In this manner, importers would choose to import based on demand and would not stockpile as it would be anticipated that prices would be gradually decreasing with time.
The best way to say that you found the home of your dreams is by finding it on Hitad.lk. We have listings for apartments for sale or rent in Sri Lanka, no matter what locale you're looking for! Whether you live in Colombo, Galle, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna and more - we've got them all!