Budget 2027 Vows to Scrap Duty-Free Vehicle Permits — Will It Actually Stick This Time?

The 2027 Budget, presented to Parliament on November 12, confirmed the government will cancel existing duty-free vehicle permits for public officials and end the scheme for good. Over 25,000 of these permits have been issued since 2020 alone, letting officials import vehicles without paying the taxes the rest of us pay in full. Supporters say this is long overdue fairness, why should a state employee get a near-tax-free Prado while an ordinary buyer pays a steep duty on a Wagon R? Others point out the scheme has been "cancelled" on paper before, only for pressure from unions, judges, and senior officials to water it down or bring it back under a new name later. There's also the harder question of what happens to officials who already imported a vehicle under an old permit, do those get clawed back, or are they grandfathered in forever? If you've ever watched a permit car roll past on an ordinary road, you know how this feels on the ground. Will this budget line actually survive contact with Parliament, or is it just this year's version of the same promise? මේ වතාවේ හරියටම නතර වෙයිද, නැත්නම් නැවතත් කවුරුත් දන්න විදිහටම පස්සට යයිද?