Levy for exporting tea suspended for 6 months

The levy on the export of tea has been temporarily suspended for a period of 36 months, said Minister Ramesh Pathirana.

The Co-Cabinet Spokesman mentioned this at the press conference held this morning (18) to inform the Cabinet decisions.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the local tea industry is currently faced with challenges, including the continuous maintenance of the monitoring activities of tea factories, comparatively decline of the procurement power of most of the countries that import tea, supply chain issues as well as fixed maintenance of quality.

Therefore, the export levy on tea will be temporarily suspended as a financial relief to maintain the stability of the industry.

The proposal to suspend the tea promotion and sales tax of Rs 3.50 levied from registered exporters, submitted by the Minister of Plantation Industries and Export Agriculture, has been approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.