APPROVAL GRANTED NOT BY RAVI K – FINANCE MINISTRY

Facilitating private vehicle assembly plant

The approval granted to release eight containers of spare parts to its consignee, a private vehicle assembling plant, was made on a Cabinet decision based on the Attorney General’s advice and was not a call made by Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake, as some persons who wish to sling mud at him are claiming, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday.

Issuing a statement the Ministry stated that the eight containers containing used vehicle parts had been released by the Customs to its consignee, the owner of a vehicle assembling plant, after a decision was made by the Cabinet of Ministers on the basis of legal advice received from the Attorney General.

“This Cabinet decision was communicated to the Sri Lanka Customs by the Secretary to the Treasury. Certain parties with vested interests are trying to mislead the general public and were hell bent on tarnishing the image of Minister Karunanayake,” it said.

A private company called ‘Vehicle Lanka (Pvt) Ltd’ which is engaged in the assembly of vehicles using used spare parts had commenced its operation after 2005. Since then, as they encountered numerous legal barriers, they had filed over 20 court cases and Fundamental Rights applications in the Supreme Court.

One such Fundamental Rights case filed in 2012 has been amicably settled with the Transport Ministry and as a result the

This Cabinet decision was communicated to the Sri Lanka Customs by the Secretary to the Treasury. Certain parties with vested interests are trying to mislead the general public and were hell bent on tarnishing the image of Minister Karunanayake

company was given permission by the then Commissioner of Motor Traffic to continue to engage in the vehicle assembling business.

The Supreme Court decision on the last FR case No 304 filed in 2011, was delivered in the year 2015 and the Cabinet appointed a Sub- committee in this regard under the chairmanship of the Minister of Transport Nimal Siripala de Silva. After having considered the legal opinion from the AG, the Cabinet decided to give the company a three-year concession for them to engage in vehicle assembling on the condition of withdrawing all pending court cases.

The Finance Ministry (as these actions came under its purview) in October 2016, submitted a paper to the Cabinet of Ministers for its consideration but not due to any personal interest on the part of Minister of Finance to help an individual company.

“It has been brought to the notice of the Minister that certain politicians and media organisations were engaged in tarnishing his image with the malicious intention of portraying that he is trying to help this particular company. Minister Karunanayake had condemned these acts while rejecting the allegations,” the statement further said.