Economist calls for policy to allow vehicle imports based on necessity

Future policies on vehicle imports should be formulated in a way that allows imports only based on necessity, according to Professor in Economics at the Department of Economics, Priyanga Dunusinghe of the University of Colombo.

Prof. Dunusinghe is of the view that that importing vehicles without real demand leads to unnecessary expenditure of the country’s foreign exchange reserves.

Speaking further, Prof. Dunusinghe noted that vehicle importers have recently brought in large quantities of vehicles, resulting in unsold stock being accumulated at vehicle sales yards.

He added that due to the current surcharge structure, importers now have an opportunity to earn higher profits by selling vehicles at elevated prices.

Professor Priyanga Dunusinghe stressed that vehicle imports should be permitted only according to genuine national requirements, and not in a manner that drains scarce foreign exchange. He warned that allowing unrestricted imports results in vehicles being stockpiled in sales yards while enabling excessive profit-making at high market prices.