By Ifham Nizam

A high-level special committee comprising Secretary to the President, Dr. P B Jayasundara and Secretary to the Treasury, Dr. S. R. Attygalle has been appointed to look into the improper import of 300 luxury vehicles worth more than Rs. 2 billion during the Covid-19 pandemic, a senior government official said.

The committee will examine all aspects and recommend the penalties to be imposed on the importers, he said. “A report on its findings and recommendations is expected to be submitted within one week”.

Most of the vehicles were imported from Japan, while the others had been brought down from the United Kingdom and Germany.

“Latest model, super luxury Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars are among the consignment imported in violation of regulations”, the official said.

Customs spokesman, Sunil Jayarathne said investigations on their part have been concluded and the recommendations of the committee are being awaited to decide on the next move.

He said the consignment of luxury vehicles has been imported during April-May when the country was under coronavirus threat. “The offenders will be penalized under the Custom Ordinance”.

Investigations revealed that most of the vehicles were imported using duty-free permits and by government officials.

In some cases, Letters of Credit had been opened before the government imposed restrictions on imports, while in the others, the orders had been placed after the ban came into effect, Jayarathne explained.

There is the possibility such vehicles being confiscated, he warned. “The consignments had been shipped to the Colombo and Hambantota Ports”.

The government suspended the import of vehicles in May 2020 in a bid to stem the outflow of foreign exchange.