CMTA appeals Customs to take action for Rs. 160 m duty loss on 13 Audi vehicles

The Ceylon Motor Traders Association (CMTA) wishes to clarify that Drive One Ltd., the sole authorised dealer for Audi in Sri Lanka, was not the importer of the 13 units of mis-declared Audi A5 cars. The importation was done by certain parallel importers who had mis-declared the engine capacity to gain a tax advantage incurring a massive loss to the country.

It was the Association along with the Vehicle Importers Association of Sri Lanka (VIASL), who brought this anomaly to the notice of the Director General of Sri Lanka Customs on 30 September where the issue and anomaly was clearly articulated to all present. The meeting was followed up with a letter dated 7 October.

These particular parallel importers have imported 13 units of Audi A5 cars which were found to be 2,000 CC petrol engine cars but declared as 1,400 CC. This mis-declaration results in an approximate duty loss to the Government of Rs. 160 million and the loss of revenue per vehicle is approximately Rs. 12.3 million.

As the authorised dealer, Drive One has confirmed that Sri Lanka Customs had visited their office to verify the actual cubic capacity (CC) of the said A5 cars and Drive One had confirmed that they are 2000cc and not 1400cc as declared, by showing the Audi Online Computer system and followed by a written confirmation. The CMTA wish to inform the public to be weary of purchasing these cars under investigation, because they could be seized by the Customs at any time. The Association also appeals to the Sri Lanka Customs and the Ministry of Finance to take possible action on the parallel importers and the persons concerned who supported the scruples act.

The Ceylon Motor Traders Association, established in 1920, represents all the international automotive manufactures, through their local agents in Sri Lanka.