The government has relaxed the restrictions imposed on 369 items through a Gazette Extraordinary published on the 09th of March, 2022.

This was announced in a press release issued by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies today. 

The communiqué notes that the relevant items can now be imported without an Import Control Licence effective from the 01st of June, subject to applicable rules and regulations including duties and taxes.

According to the ministry, after taking into account the recent developments in the country and the measures that have been taken, the following two actions were taken pursuant to the Imports and Exports Control Act, No. 01 0f 1969:

• Postponement of the effective date of the Imports Control Regulations on Payment Terms No. 07 of 2022 published on the 06th of May this year.

Imports Control Regulations on Payment Terms has been promulgated and published in the Gazette No. 2281/22 dated May 31, 2022 giving effect to the postponement of the effective date of the Imports Control Regulations No. 07 of 2022 from May 20, 2022 to June 07, 2022.

Thereby, any cargos/consignments, imported under the Open Account Payment Terms, Documents against Payment or Documents against Acceptance can be released from the Sri Lanka Customs as per general practice applicable prior to May 07, 2022 until June 06, 2022.

• Termination of Imports and Exports Control Regulation No. 05 of 2022 and No. 06 of 2022 effective from June 01, 2022.

Imports and Exports Control Regulations No. 08 of 2022 has been promulgated and published in the Gazette No. 2281/21 dated May 31, 2022. Accordingly, a total of 369 HS Codes, which were regulated by the said regulations above can be imported without Import Control License effective from June 01, 2022, subject to applicable rules and regulations including duties and taxes at the time of Customs clearance of cargos/consignments.

Given the difficult economic situation in the country, the ministry has appealed to all stakeholders to rationalize their importation on the basis of importance and urgency to save the limited foreign exchange for the purpose of importation of essential commodities to ensure their uninterrupted supply.