The valuation costs of Honda Vezel and Toyota Premier vehicles have been revised and accordingly their import duties have increased by around Rs. 300,000 to 400,000, Sri Lanka Vehicle Importers’ Association chairman Indika Sampath Merinchige told Ada Derana Biz.
The Sri Lanka Vehicle Importers’ Association chairman added that when the models of these vehicles change the valuation costs too have changed accordingly.
He went on to explain thus, “The valuation of vehicles is obtained after deducting the particular duties by particular countries from the vehicle manufacturer’s prices on their websites. When the vehicles reach Sri Lanka this valuation is taken into account to calculate the taxes. The valuation of vehicle models like the Toyota Allion, Premier and Honda Vezel changed during the past few days.
“At this instance, the vehicle manufacturers have taken steps to increase the prices of the new vehicles due to the changes in design. What happens here is even if an older model is imported their valuation is done under the new model prices since both the new and older models are under the same category.
The price of a new vehicle has increased by approximately 200,000 Japanese Yen. In parallel there has been an increase of around Rs. 400,000 on a Premier car. The Vezel model has seen an increase of around Rs. 200,000 to Rs. 250,000.
He added that when the models of imported vehicles change their valuation too is revised. This price increase is due to the Customs however valuing these vehicles under a single category whether they are older or the latest models.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Vehicle Importers’ Association chairman added that the Sri Lanka Customs has informed them that the valuation of several other models of vehicles could increase in the future. Under these circumstances, future vehicle imports have to be further curtailed, he said.