Saturday Oct 24, 2026
Saturday Oct 24, 2026
Saturday, 24 October 2026 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Treasury Secretary
Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma
Sri Lanka Customs Director General
Vimal Liyanagama
Treasury Secretary Dr. Harshana Suriyapperuma has hailed Sri Lanka Customs’ (SLC) contributions to the country’s recovery and development, saying revenue collected by the department enabled the Government to allocate Rs. 500 billion to respond to the Ditwah disaster and to provide relief on fuel prices driven up by the war in the Middle East.
He made the remarks at a ceremony held on Thursday at the Customs Department to felicitate officers after SLC surpassed its full-year revenue target for 2026 with more than two months of the year remaining.
Dr. Suriyapperuma said Customs revenue is used for the welfare of the people, funding infrastructure, education, healthcare, investment for the country’s future needs and emergency relief.
He said international institutions act to raise Sri Lanka’s credit ratings taking into account the stability of the economy, and the efficient performance of the Government’s revenue-collecting institutions is an important factor in this.
SLC collected Rs. 2,208 billion on 13 October, exceeding its 2026 target of Rs. 2,207 billion, and total collections had risen to Rs. 2.29 trillion as at 21 October, the Finance Ministry said yesterday. The department exceeded its revenue target in every month of 2026.
In 2025, SLC met its annual target on 11 November. This year it achieved a higher target 29 days earlier.
Dr. Suriyapperuma stressed the importance of transforming SLC into an efficient institution operating to international standards. He said it was very important to make customs operations more efficient through modern technology to further improve revenue collection, and to curb fraud by sharing information collected by Customs with other relevant sectors.
He said that, despite obstacles, SLC had implemented its paperless customs declaration programme.
Dr. Suriyapperuma said SLC has the capacity to raise revenue further, and that further developing the legal system and governance structure could improve public, business and trade association attitudes towards the department.
Sri Lanka Customs Director General Vimal Liyanagama said achieving the target was the result of the work of a dedicated, professionally skilled team of officers.
