Friday, August 14 2026
Friday, August 14 2026
MONETABRIEF - Sri Lanka has extended a 50 percent surcharge on vehicle imports till December 31, the Director General of Customs said in a statement.
The surcharge was originally imposed in May for three months.
The order was issued by the Minister of Finance.
Sri Lanka slapped the surcharge on vehicle imports in May after the central bank dishonored its own note issue (exchange as the first line of defence), after allowing excess liquidity to build up.
Liquidity was built up mostly by purchasing dollars from the public and monetizing bank dollar balance via buy-sell swaps.
The central bank first started creating forex trouble from around February 1952 printing money to control rates. The first import surcharges and exchange and trade controls them.
The parliament and political leaders failed to hold the agency accountable for triggering external trouble and first 'áragalaya' followed soon after during the stabilization crisis. (Colombo/Aug14/2026)
| Sterling | 458.31 | Sell - |
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| 12-m bill | 10.20% | 0 - |
| Gold | $4035 | - - |
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