The Inside Story: Why Ravi K Released Toyota Prado Jeeps
Alleged 1.5 billion revenue fraud condoned by the new DGC: An Insight into the case
By Nagananda Kodituwakku –December 24, 2015
Nagananda Kodituwakku
Relying on information provided by the Customs Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), Sri Lanka’s print media reported last week, that a large number of Toyota Prado Jeeps (over 189 numbers) had been detained at the Hambantota port by the Customs Central Investigation Directorate and that the respective importers had failed to declare the ‘TRUE TRANSACTION VALUE’ for Customs purposes. It was further reported that the Director General of Customs (DGC), Mr Chulananda Perera, has made an illegal order to release all these vehicles causing a colossal loss of over 1.5 billion rupees of revenue.
The objective of this piece of writing is to alert the readers with the factual information about this case, as it appears that people are being misinformed with falsified stories by the interested parties both in and out of the Customs service.
Agreement on implementation of Article vii of the GATT – 1994
Sri Lanka is a member of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and member of the WTO since 1st Jan 1995 and has ratified the Article VII of the GATT concerning valuation of goods for Customs purposes.
Enacting laws in keeping with the GATT Valuation Agreement
The Article 12 of the said agreement requires all member nations to make laws and regulations setting out the content of the agreement. And in 1988, Sri Lanka adopted the said agreement in the Customs Ordinance (Schedule E).
The primary basis for Customs value under these regulations is the “transaction value” as defined in Article 1 of the said regulations, that is the price actually paid or payable for goods when sold for export to country of importation.
