Vehicle Import Restrictions to be Lifted!

[iRage]

2 hours ago, matroska said:

The IMF does want us to downsize our spending on vehicles. At the same time the IMF of course will not as a principle support import restrictions on any goods. I think Sri Lanka might want to explore other ways to control - including taxes, maybe a system like they have in Singapore etc.

Actually this is exactly what is to be interpreted by what the IMF is saying, this coming from knowing how organizations like the UN and its donors mean. 

See....as a person who might have an unhealthy relationship with Toyotas and an advocate for automobiles I cannot outwardly say you should stay the he11 away from a Mitsubishi. You should have the right I should help you maintain the right to purchase whatever car you want. So the only thing I can do is to recommend facts that would guide you to limit the likelihood of you purchasing a Mitsubishi

2 hours ago, matroska said:

the public transport here is terribly terribly crappy. After half-a-dozen years of trying I eventually gave up. 

..and this is partly linked to the American like obsession we have with cars. Sadly the powers that run the country do not seem to have a vested interest in actually doing anything about it. We can only hope and pray that the Japanese will reconsider re-initiating the transport improvement projects. ALso, this is also a global issue. Countries across the world need serious improvement in public transportation. However it costs a lot of money and a lot of time. Neither of which is the interest of any political party (in any country) who gets the keys to a nation for 4 years. Therefore, it is easy to convince the populous that EVs are the solution to all our eco problems.

2 hours ago, matroska said:

Sri Lankans as a people, have an American-like obsession with personal vehicles.

Apart from the above..it is also the ability to flex. We Lankans do live to impress our neighbors and what better way to do that than a flashy car or multiple flashy cars. This is further strengthened by the cost of cars and them being considered an appreciating asset (in light of how flakey our currency is). This also needs a complete reboot of our society. We need to actually value people for people and who they are rather than all these stupid flexes (more or less practice all the stuff we preach about through our religions). I wonder if this is something we ever had. 

[Gummybr]

Firstly they should do away with all these irrelevant permit schemes where permits are issued to govt servants and ministers. Permits should be issued to people looking to buy brand new vehicles (like the certificate of ownership in Singapore) but it shouldnt carry a tax benefit. The person getting the permit should be able to justify his earnings, timely tax payments and as to how he / she is going to buy the car from his accumulated wealth. If its a company that wants to buy they should in turn present their financials and tax payments. 

My bro was of the opinion that taxes should be reduced on vehicles but purchasing made difficult through the above ways so that there wont be a huge influx of vehicles. But the stumbling block is that we have been depending too much on vehicle import taxes, I have heard that they are looking at Rs. 800b revenue from vehicle imports which is a bit of a long shot. Next step should be to have a ceiling on the annual import bill which should be transparent to all. Next should be a higher road tax to be paid annually in place of our revenue license system.

As @matroska says we should look at our public transport systems, it was sad that they stopped the Light Rail System. But it will take a lot of effort and investment to do it but I am sure people will come around to using public transport. What I suggested in the above paragraph can be achieved with a good public transport system.

[Noobdriver]

On 9/30/2024 at 8:53 AM, iRage said:

A few months ago there were two that came up for sale...they were 19mil and above..one was nearly 21.

So....we brought down our Corolla Touring. Customs took the Japanese market value for the CIF value which was 2.4mil yen...based on that valuation, customs calculated the total value of the vehilce including import duties to be 17.5mil (the car was brought in duty free for my wife whose job gives her a duty free allowance for one car import during her assignment in whatever country she is working in).

People say Premios, Corolla Sports, etc...go for such high prices because of the LKR devaluation and that the dollar amount will be lesser than what it was when new. In reality, not the case. People are still making a good amount of money with it.

I'm not sure where you got the numbers from on the Corolla Sports. I was actively following them and I saw one go for 15 Mil (Black). There was another one sold but I'm not 100% sure of the price and specifics, but not that high. 

I think our tax system is extremely flawed. They take a certain set of specs to define the tax, which I don't think is reasonable.

For example, if you're buying a car on a budget, you only have a few options if you're looking for something around the early 2010s, at the 6 million mar, it's either going to be a junk 660c Kei Car or an old beaten Swift/Vitz (I don't think you can even buy a Stingray for 7 million now, which is hilarious).

I guess they should push more towards the more higher end cars (for example easing on Corollas, Camrys) and taxing on higher-end cars like the Audis, BMWs, Range Rovers. Focusing mostly on the CIF value and having progressive slabs of tax based on the CIF value and not just the engine size. That would make a more fairer system (At the moment a 2018 Premio costs way more than a 2018 Audi A3 or a BMW 3 series) and a Honda Vezel and Honda Civic are both touching A3 prices lol.

On top of increased import taxes, have a decent amount of annual tax on higher end cars too. That will have a steady flow of revenue for the government at the same time and discourage pricier imports.

If the average car is not going to be cheap, we will not see a drop in the number of accidents we see in the roads. Motorcycles, Tuks, Buses - I'm fed up of them at this point. 🥲. If they could afford better vehicles, they wouldn't be driving them, and due to the smaller size of Motorcycles and Tuks, they tried to squeeze in from tight spots and end up damaging your vehicle.

Edited 8 hours ago by Noobdriver

[Gummybr]

2 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

I'm not sure where you got the numbers from on the Corolla Sports. I was actively following them and I saw one go for 15 Mil (Black). There was another one sold but I'm not 100% sure of the price and specifics, but not that high. 

I think our tax system is extremely flawed. They take a certain set of specs to define the tax, which I don't think is reasonable.

For example, if you're buying a car on a budget, you only have a few options if you're looking for something around the early 2010s, at the 6 million mar, it's either going to be a junk 660c Kei Car or an old beaten Swift/Vitz (I don't think you can even buy a Stingray for 7 million now, which is hilarious).

I guess they should push more towards the more higher end cars (for example easing on Corollas, Camrys) and taxing on higher-end cars like the Audis, BMWs, Range Rovers. Focusing mostly on the CIF value and having progressive slabs of tax based on the CIF value and not just the engine size. That would make a more fairer system (At the moment a 2018 Premio costs way more than a 2018 Audi A3 or a BMW 3 series) and a Honda Vezel and Honda Civic are both touching A3 prices lol.

On top of increased import taxes, have a decent amount of annual tax on higher end cars too. That will have a steady flow of revenue for the government at the same time and discourage pricier imports.

If the average car is not going to be cheap, we will not see a drop in the number of accidents we see in the roads. Motorcycles, Tuks, Buses - I'm fed up of them at this point. 🥲. If they could afford better vehicles, they wouldn't be driving them, and due to the smaller size of Motorcycles and Tuks, they tried to squeeze in from tight spots and end up damaging your vehicle.

Previously the tax structure was based on the vehicle value (CIF) but it was abused by all through under valuing thereby the govt lost a lot of revenue and high priced vehicles were imported at low costs but sold at high prices. It is not easy to define and say a BMW should be taxed more against a Suzuki, there is no way that globally you can tax based on a brand name.

[iRage]

4 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

I'm not sure where you got the numbers from on the Corolla Sports. I was actively following them and I saw one go for 15 Mil (Black).

Local advertisements and what a person I know of from car groups was asking for his  The 21mil was I believe a sedan WXB so had the manual transmission. For some reason the owner seems ot have thought that it was a special sports edition or something

4 hours ago, Noobdriver said:

I think our tax system is extremely flawed. They take a certain set of specs to define the tax, which I don't think is reasonable.

You would think that but this system has been the most consistent system the country has had. Are the rates fair ? no...Do car prices at the end make sense ? No...but does it work ? yes.
Your statement about the Vezel and Civic being the same price as a A3 is not the best example. In most  parts of the world an A3 is not a high-end vehicle. It is a mid-level model from a premium brand. In fact, right now, if you check prices...in most markets (if not all), I am sure a 2023 Civic with X miles on it would be the same price as an A3 of the same age and similar mileage. Also, you mention that cars in the Camry and Corolla segment should be reduced in market cost. That also won't work because cars like the Corolla and Civic are not what they used to be...entry level mid-sized vehicles...if you take the Corolla it now fills the market of the Corolla, Carina/Corona and the Camry fills the void from everything from the X chassis cars to entry-level Crown models. So they are no longer cars that fit one particular market segment. We obviously need a mechanism to define and identify cars belonging to different market segments. Perhaps the existing system can be changed to add more granularity (e.g. charge per engine cc but depending on CIF value have different rates ?) There is no way to fix this. ...the long term solution to the affordability of cars and living in general problem is to make the people wealthier. 

As @Gummybr mentioned in the past it was based on CIF value. The government got cheated as the importer's under-valued cars.  Even before that (80s, early 90s) it was based on CIF value plus they charged additional fees for each accessory/option. Then the government went with using the MSRP published by the manufacturers and used a depreciation table. But with FOREX fluctuations and market value fluctuations that didn't work out too well either (e.g. right now a LC250 in Japan through a 3rd party dealer is about 11mil yen while the MSRP for the same car is just 8mil). 

Taxes are not fair. They never are.

Edited 3 hours ago by iRage