Sri Lanka Court Orders Release of 506 BYD EVs Amid Tariff Dispute

Colombo, Sep 3 (PTI) A Sri Lankan court has ordered the release of a second batch of Chinese BYD electric vehicles (EVs) that were previously held by Customs due to concerns over alleged misrepresentation of their motor power.

The Court of Appeal made the decision to release 506 Chinese EVs after the official dealer, John Keells CG Auto, requested relief for the second time in the past month.

However, the release is contingent upon the dealer providing additional bank guarantees of 1.8 billion rupees to Sri Lanka Customs for all 506 cars.

Customs officials are concerned that the motor power of the EVs might have been inaccurately reported in import documents to secure an undeserved tariff advantage. This is the second instance of Chinese BYD EVs being held by Customs due to alleged discrepancies in motor power under customs tariff classifications.

In July, another consignment of 1,000 EVs from BYD was detained by Sri Lanka Customs over suspicions of undervaluation of motor power as a means to reduce excise duty. Officials relayed this information to the parliamentary oversight committee.

In August, a settlement was reached with the importer in the Court of Appeal, allowing for the release of over 900 units while tests to verify the motor power were still ongoing.

The importer had been accused of declaring a lower motor capacity—100 kW instead of the actual 150 kW—to be charged lower customs duties. The customs tariff for a 100 kW motor is four million rupees less than that for a 150 kW motor.

After car imports resumed in Sri Lanka in February for the first time in five years, BYD saw rapid sales growth. By May, the brand had captured nearly 90% of the electric car market and more than 10% of the overall car sales.

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