ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka will charge a tax for vehicle modification or alteration and “legally register” illegal motor cars Finance Minister Basil Rajapaksa said presenting a budget for 2022.
“..It is proposed to impose a fee on vehicle modification, alteration, and refurbishment; and, subject to an amnesty period to pay fines, legally register illegal motor cars and motor cycles, if they are in condition suitable for road,” Minister Rajapaksa said in prepared remarks.
Minister Rajapaksa did not specify which vehicles he was referring to.
There a number of dodgy vehicles on Sri Lanka’s roads.
There are a dozens of vehicles on the road which have been imported in parts and ‘assembled’ in Sri Lanka which had been subject to a court action by one party.
A police investigation into the VIN numbers found that many had been stolen in Europe, persons familiar with the case say.
There are a number of ‘accident’ vehicles which have been written off but have been ‘reborn’ with new a chasis and an engine where the same number exists.
There are also dozens of Austin/Morris Minis which are scampering around with Morris Minor registration books.
The Finance Minister did not say which group of dodgy cars he was referring to. (Colombo/Nov12/2021)