CMTA acknowledges need to cut vehicle imports

The Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA), which represents all major international motor manufacturers in Sri Lanka yesterday acknowledged the need to stem excessive vehicle imports to the country to have a sound economic footing in the long run.

The Association said this with regard to the duty increase on cars below 1000cc by the government, this week.

CMTA said it fully understands the current state of Sri Lanka’s economy, which has been marked by poor performance of its external balances.

“The Association also understands that the government and our economy are unable to sustain a significant outflow of foreign exchange.

We concede that the imports of motor vehicles, which have more than doubled from January to June 2018 vs. the same period for 2017, is a contributory factor towards this,”

a CMTA statement said. “This situation has added a further strain on the nation’s current account which is already seeing an expanding fuel import bill given the rising

global oil prices. Concurrently, the government needs to maximise its collection of revenue from the import of motor vehicles. The CMTA understands that government policy

that impacts the automotive industry is largely governed by their external balances and their need to collect revenue,” the statement added.