Customs revenue during the last five months has dropped by 30 percent, Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said.
He made these remarks while addressing an event which was held to appoint 134 assistant customs superintendents yesterday (Jun 20).
The Finance Minister had recounted that customs revenue stood at Rs 912 billion last year and had contributed to 54 percent of the country's income.
However, that too had been Rs 153 billion short of the Rs 1065 billion target, Mr. Samaraweera added.
The Finance Minister said that steps would be taken to introduce a new Customs Act and to also establish a Customs Samurdhi Unit to ease economic problems faced by employees at the Customs Department.
A Sri Lankan man was apprehended at Suvarnabhumi airport for attempting to smuggle wildlife out of the country after three ball pythons were found hidden in his underwear, the Bangkok post reported.
The UK government has unveiled a package of reforms to simplify imports from developing countries which allows for more garments manufactured in Sri Lanka to enter the UK tariff-free.
Read these and more on tomorrow’s edition of the Sunday Times
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