Former Western Provincial Councilor and SJB member Niroshan Padukka has alleged that insider information related to a recent vehicle import tax decision was leaked to select businessmen before the official gazette notification was issued.
Speaking to reporters opposite the Central Bank of Sri Lanka, Padukka claimed that an extraordinary gazette issued by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on May 15 imposed a 50 percent surcharge on vehicle imports, while exempting vehicles for which Letters of Credit (LCs) had been opened on or before that date.
“The President writes the letter on the 15th and issues the extraordinary gazette. But the problem is, how did two prominent businessmen in this country know this beforehand?” he questioned.
According to Padukka, two businessmen had opened LCs on the same day to import a total of 4,000 brand-new vehicles under the previous tax rate structure.
He alleged that one businessman arranged imports for 3,500 vehicles, while another secured imports for 500 vehicles.
Padukka questioned how the businessmen had obtained prior knowledge of the tax revision, suggesting that confidential information regarding the gazette may have been leaked before its publication.
“According to my knowledge, more than Rs. 40 billion worth of LCs were opened last Friday. Because of this, the rupee was devalued. Is this not a scam? Is this not insider trading? Is this not a robbery bigger than the Treasury scam?” he claimed.
He further alleged that the sudden increase in vehicle import-related LCs contributed to the recent depreciation of the rupee, noting that the US dollar had reportedly risen from Rs. 323 on Friday (May 15) to Rs. 334 by Monday evening.
“When the dollar rises by 11 rupees, we become suspicious. When we checked, Letters of Credit had been opened for 4,000 vehicles,” he said, claiming that the state had lost more than Rs. 20 billion in potential tax revenue as a result.
Padukka stated that he had visited the Central Bank of Sri Lanka seeking details regarding the approval of the LCs and questioned why authorities had failed to monitor or prevent the transactions.
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