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Customs streamline Carnet permits

29 Feb 2012 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Customs has decided to streamline the Carnet scheme which permits the temporary importation of private vehicles in order to prevent the facility being misused by some permit holders to bring down luxury vehicles with foreign number plates without paying the necessary duty.

The new conditions authorised by the Customs are that the Carnet permit holder should not be a resident of Sri Lanka, the period of temporary importation under Carnet should not exceed three months, the holder cannot take up paid employment or any other form of gainful occupation during the temporary visit, the vehicle imported by obtaining a Carnet permit cannot be sold, loaned, abandoned, hired or otherwise disposed in Sri Lanka. The vehicle brought down has to be re-exported within the validity period of the temporary importation.

The Customs further stated that if the importer violated any condition, any substitution, false declaration or act having the effect of causing a person or an article improperly to benefit from the system of importation laid down in the convention, may render the offender liable for penalties and forfeitures imposed under the Customs Ordinance of Sri Lanka.

As a contracting party of the Customs Convention on the Temporary Importation of Private Road Vehicles (CARNET), Sri Lanka grants temporary admission without paying import duty, taxes and customs levies subject to re-exportation and to other conditions laid down in the convention to vehicles owned by normal residents outside Sri Lanka for their private use on the occasion of a temporary visit.

These measures have been taken as a large scale vehicle racket running into millions of rupees by avoiding duty came into light in the country by using ‘Carnet’ permits given to foreigners, dual citizenship holders and tourists who travel abroad allowing them to keep the vehicle with them for a period of one year in Sri Lanka.( Supun Dias)

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Customs streamline Carnet permits

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