Any MP elected to parliament in Sri Lanka is given a vehicle permit to import a vehicle whose value doesn’t exceed US$62,500 (Rs. 10 million) and many MPs sell the vehicle immediately. Any MP getting down a vehicle valued at this amount would get a tax relief of Rs. 33,457,500. For example an MP importing a Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle would get this tax relief. In this transaction they earn about Rs. 30 million.
Many MPs sell the document with the permit while others get down the vehicle, get it registered in their names and sell to others. Thus the Treasury loses about Rs. 3.3 million from vehicles imported for MPs
Selling such vehicles is an offence but during Mahinda Rajapaksa regime this legal restriction was removed. As such, MPs get down a vehicle getting the government to spend nearly Rs.100 million for each of them, sell the vehicle for a higher price and credit the money to their accounts.
At the moment MPs advertise their vehicle in websites and have started selling them. We have received a list of MPs who have sold their vehicles. None of the JVP MPs have sold the vehicles they have got the permits for.
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