Sugar import levy upped to Rs.13 a kilo

The Special Commodity Levy for a kilo of imported white sugar had been increased by Rs. 6 from last night, the Finance Ministry said.

However, the retail price would not be affected, Ministry’s Media Secretary Sisira Wijesinghe told the Daily Mirror.

“An importer would now have to pay Rs. 13. Earlier it was Rs. 7 per kilo.  However, the price increment would not affect consumers because the government had declared a control price of Rs. 95 on white sugar,” he said.

“The Ministry took this decision to discourage sugar imports and to gain more revenue to the government,” he said. (Chaturanga Pradeep)