The Department of Import and Export Control has issued a gazette notification to prevent the illegal outflow of foreign exchange from the country.
Accordingly, the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Monetary Planning and Economic Development, issued a gazette notification containing new regulatory measures effective from last Friday (19th) to effectively monitor foreign currency payments related to import activities.
The imposition of these regulations will prevent the illegal outflow of foreign exchange in import activities. With the circular, effective from the 19th, banks will issue a special number for every payment made related to import transactions. Besides, it is also mandatory for banks to provide information related to that bank transaction to Sri Lanka Customs. The bank must also provide the importerโs Tax Identification Number (TIN), beneficiary information, bank and branch codes, amount paid, currency, payment date, details of the imported goods, etc. to Customs. Customs investigations have revealed that in recent years, some people have sent money abroad under the guise of importing goods, and that no goods have been imported with that money.
Investigations conducted by the newly established Anti-Money Laundering Unit of Sri Lanka Customs in collaboration with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka have revealed that in 2023/2024 and 2025 alone, about one billion US dollars have been sent to foreign countries through various means, including banks, under the guise of importing goods. Customs and the Central Bank of Sri Lanka are also conducting an extensive investigation into the money sent in this way.
A senior Customs official said that these new regulations will enable the importer to ascertain with certainty whether the money sent by an importer to import goods through banks was actually imported or not, and that if the goods have not been imported within a certain period of time, the importer can be questioned about it. He said that this system will prevent the sending of illegally earned โblack moneyโ to foreign countries. Deputy Minister of Finance Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando said that the purpose of the new gazette notification is to systematically monitor import activities but not to restrict imports.
He further said that the aim of this is to prevent unnecessary outflow of foreign exchange from the country by systematically studying payments made for imports. He also said that it was recently revealed in Parliament that certain parties have been registering fake companies and sending foreign exchange out of the country under the guise of import and export processes. Here, the Deputy Minister stated that all information including the importerโs address, account number, imported goods, and currency of payment will be obtained systematically, and that each bank should maintain a separate number for each transaction.
Investigations into transfer of US$2.5 Mn to third party underway
Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando stressed that investigations into the transfer of US$2.5 million to a third party are underway properly.
When he was asked about the progress of the investigations into the transfer of US$2.5 million to a third party, Deputy Minister Fernando told the Daily News that the invex investigations are ongoing both domestically and internationally.
Further he pointed out that the investigations are being conducted in a more transparent manner, starting with reporting the facts to the Colombo Commercial High Court, in collaboration with all institutions including Parliament, the Criminal Investigation Department, the Attorney Generalโs Department. (DSA)
Source : Daily News
