Sri Lankan govt to remove customs duty on yarn

With a view to stimulate expansion of the country’s textile sector, Sri Lankan Government has decided to withdraw customs duty on yarn from January 2012.

The Government has also resolved to end Value Added Tax (VAT) on import of machinery required in textile manufacturing to enhance the country’s production capacity and boost export potential.

Releasing the Government’s new Budget Plan for 2012 in Sri Jayawardenapura-Kotte, President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced a series of new fiscal policies and taxation measures with the objective of boosting exports and strengthening the country’s economy.

The measures include devaluation of Sri Lanka’s national currency by three percent in order to increase the nation’s global competitiveness and boost export volumes.

Presenting a rough draft of the plan, Mr. Rajapaksa said while leaving behind the decades of negative economic policies and social inequalities, Sri Lanka is moving forward to trail on a progressive path heading towards developing an open economy.

The President further said that implementation of the new policies would also be intended at encouraging establishment of new business, while offering tax breaks of up six years to enterprises set up in the export or import substitution sectors. This tax break would be available to the firms with preliminary capital investments of not more than LKR 300 million, while large firms with investment of not more than LKR 2.5 billion may be granted tax holidays of up to 12 years.