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EV Import License

A circular is issued enabling Sri Lankans employed abroad who remit foreign exchange to Sri Lanka through the banking system of the country to import a fully electric vehicle.

What EV?

One of the very first questions would be, what EV to import? This is a million-dollar question whilst making a large investment of this nature. There are several parameters, which relate to the user, usage, vehicle performance, needy features, infrastructure, warranty, longevity, maintenance, repair costs to resale values do matter a lot where most EVs on offer are still new kids on the block, with possible teething problems.

The user parameters and the EV should meet together in the given infrastructure. There are products available from Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, BYD, etc from Asia and Tesla, Mercedes, Volvo, Audi, VW, etc from the US and the EU. We will elaborate on each of these models soon, let’s look at the licensing procedure and parameters first.

One of our pre ban EV Imports

Eligibility

  • At least 50% of the amount of foreign currency remitted through the banking system of Sri Lanka by the employed abroad should have been converted into Sri Lankan Rupees.
  • The provisions of the circular shall be in force only for the period specified in Table 4.4 herein and the foreign exchange remitted to the country through the banking system shall be used for the settlement of all expenditures inclusive of government taxes applicable to the importation of a vehicle.
  • If the scheme is available, the permits may be granted in 5-year intervals.
  • The vehicle is transferrable to a third party after two (2) years from the registration. If any wishes to transfer prior he will be allowed to do so upon a tax amounting to 10% of the CIF value.
  • The restrictions of the vehicle permits are as follows. Please refer to the full circular posted at the end of this document.
Table 4.4

Vehicle Specifications

  • The battery pack and electric motor of the electric vehicle should have a producer’s guarantee at least for a period of 3 years and compliance should be ensured with the road safety standards for international electric vehicles (EV).
  • A certificate issued by an authorized agent undertaking the responsibility for the proper disposal of the used battery in conformity with the approved/standard procedures/methods should be furnished.
  • High voltage battery and power management systems of the electric vehicle should conform to the requirements prescribed by the Department of Motor Traffic.
  • The vehicle should either be brand new or with a zero odometer and the electric vehicle and its battery should be imported to Sri Lanka within 06 months from the year of manufacturing.
  • In the case of a four-wheel vehicle, the minimum range on a single charge should be over 200 kilometers.
Our Imports – A Tesla Model 3 unloading at the Port of Colombo

Funding Criteria

  • The funds required for the issuance of the Letter of Credit should be transferred to the relevant company through a licensed commercial bank from the bank account of the beneficiary himself/herself. (Evidence should be furnished to the effect that the total cost of importing the vehicle is borne from the money remitted by the beneficiary)
  • The cost of the vehicle should be paid to the relevant parties in foreign currency.
  • The applicable government tax should be paid in rupees, having converted the foreign exchange remitted to a licensed commercial bank by the beneficiary

Operational Procedure

  • The application for the importation of an electric vehicle under this scheme can be downloaded either from the website of the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment (www.labourmin.gov.lk) or from the website of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (www.slbfe.lk) or from here.
  • The duly completed application should be handed over to the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment along with all the relevant documents.
  • A letter of confirmation stating the total annual remittances inclusive of the amount of foreign currency remitted to the country by Sri Lankans employed abroad who are eligible for the scheme and the amount of money converted into Rupees and the foreign currency saving should be furnished by the relevant bank.(A form will be introduced for this purpose)
  • Subsequent to the submission of the duly completed application by the Sri Lankan employed abroad and other documents by the said Sri Lankan or by a person duly authorized by him/her to the Ministry in charge of the subject of Foreign Employment, the said Ministry will issue the vehicle import permit and the permit so issued is valid for a period of six (06) months.
  • The authority for the authentication of any document submitted together with the application for the vehicle import permit under this scheme from the relevant authorities lies with the Ministry of Labour and Foreign Employment.

What EV s are the best for Sri Lanka?

This is a million-dollar question whilst making a large investment of this nature. There are several parameters, which relate to the User, Usage, Vehicle performance, Features, Infrastructure, Warranty, Dependability, Longevity, Maintenance, and Ownership Costs to Resale values do matter a lot when most EVs on offer are still new kids on the block, with possible teething problems.

The user parameters and the EV should meet together in the given infrastructure. There are products available from Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, BYD, etc from Asia, and Tesla, Mercedes, Volvo, Audi, VW, etc from the US and the EU. You will find all that information below (Still WIP)

Our Assistance

Are you eligible or will you be eligible soon?

Mobility Alliance is pleased to assist you in the licensing formalities and best EV importation being the most Trusted EV Service Provider in Sri Lanka.

~ From the selection of the best EV, application processing and to the succesful delivery to your doorstep!

You may reach us at +94 777 007 139 (Telephone and WhatsApp) or email us at sujeeva@mobility.lk / evsrilanka@gmail.com

Here are some cool EV features for you to know until then.

3 thoughts on “EV Import License”

  1. Sir. I am a Merchant navy officer. I have remitted around 48 000 USD $ to sri lankan Bank.pls note from may 2202 to sep 2022, 35 000 usd only.Pls let me know my self eligible for 24000 $ value ev vehicle to import. And can I buy next year.

  2. Can an employee in a foreign company or director board member in a foreign company stay in Sri Lanka but earn foreign currency import EV under this scheme?

  3. Hi
    Me and my wife both separately sent nearly £200k to Sri Lanka via banks from UK
    Both we are employed here in UK
    We need to get this licence asap
    Need bit higher end cars though

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