Four-month amnesty for unregistered motor cycles raises eyebrows

The Sri Lanka Government has rejected claims that a 4- month amnesty for motor cyclists to register motor cycles being used without registration was a ruse to legalise an illegal motor cycle assembly operation.

When questioned about these allegations, Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva vehemently denied that the amnesty was to cover up any illegal activity but said he would direct the Commissioner General of Motor Traffic to probe any allegations against some department officials involved in such activity.

He said the amnesty decision was taken after discussions with the Treasury and representatives of the industry and a cabinet paper was prepared accordingly conforming to the Motor Traffic Act and not to prejudice legal importers.

He told the Business Times that the Cabinet had approved a propos- al submitted by him in August to grant registration for such motorcycles for four months after levying a surcharge.

The cabinet memorandum said there are large numbers of motorcycles which are not registered in the Motor Traffic Department (MTD). “Such motorcycles are very useful in rural areas where public transportation is minimal and they contribute much for the rural agricultural economy and self-employment. It has been decided that it is suitable to provide an opportunity to register such motor cycles.”

However motor cycle importers argue that the Government’s move could promote an illicit assembly racket and the sale of assembled motor cycles.

Motor cycles are being assembled in various areas of the country including Nittambuwa on large and small scale and they're registered as reconditioned with the support of several errant officials at the New Registration Branch at the MTD, they revealed.

At least 15,000 motor cycles illegally assembled in Sri Lanka using imported spare parts are running without MTD registration at present, they disclosed.

Forged custom declarations and packing lists are prepared by some officials for assembled motor cycles enabling it to get MTD registration as reconditioned causing massive revenue loss for the department, they alleged.

The chassis numbers, engine numbers and engine capacity details of the imported motor cycles are changed with the details of the locally assembled ones to show that they have been imported lawfully to get it registered as reconditioned.

These racketeers are evading the payment of customs levy of more than Rs. 100,000 per motor cycle. They used to pay only the duty for imported spare parts, a local motorcycle franchise holder told the Business Times.