Customs speeds up vehicle clearance to one and a half days

Colombo, May 29 (Daily Mirror) - The Sri Lanka Customs said today that the delays in clearing imported vehicles have now been significantly reduced, with vehicles now being released within one and a half days, Additional Director General and Customs spokesperson Seevali Arukgoda said.

Addressing a media briefing, he said that the delay, which arose due to various legal complications, has been resolved with the support of the Finance Ministry.

He explained that vehicle imports resumed recently after a five-year suspension and that unexpected legal issues related to vehicle documentation and import procedures caused the initial delays. 

“These legal matters did not exist at the beginning but were identified later, which slowed down the clearance process,” Arukgoda said.

However, as of yesterday (28), the Customs Department has successfully addressed all outstanding issues and vehicle clearance documentation is now being processed much faster. Under the new procedure, imported vehicles are cleared for release within one and a half days, either on the same day or the following day, effectively resolving previous delays in releasing vehicles to importers.