Deputy Minister of Economic Development Anil Jayantha Fernando has refuted recent claims that the government has decided to cancel permits issued for vehicle imports.
Addressing the Parliament today, Deputy Minister Fernando said the import of vehicles through permits has not been revoked, but the import of vehicles has been restricted for this year.
He further stressed that the government is not in a position to cancel the vehicle permit benefit.
“There is no permanent decision regarding vehicle permits, while officials or those with the necessary qualifications should not be deprived of benefits. When these benefits were given, the actions taken in the past could have included wrong decisions. Since they do not receive a fair salary or benefits, sometimes these permits or other things have been used as a means of leverage. However, those can be examined separately,” he said.
In terms of the number of permits issued, Deputy Minister Fernando said per the data, there is a significant number, about 15,000 to 20,000 permits.
“If we consider the foreign exchange reserves and open up permits, we will not be able to reach the economic targets we’ve set this year. The economy will not be able to expand. Therefore, it is not a policy issue but a priority issue, and a decision has not been made to cancel it,” he explained.
Recently, participating in the ‘Sirsasa Satana Programme’, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that vehicles will not be allowed to be imported using permits this year. (Newswire)