Budget Due Nov 12 — Will Doctors and Professors Finally Lose Duty-Free Car Permits?

The 2027 Budget lands on November 12, and the government has promised to formally cancel the duty-free vehicle permit scheme for public officials rather than leave it merely suspended, as it has been since around 2020. Doctors, university academics and other senior officials have lobbied hard to get the perk restored, arguing it was one reason many stayed in the public sector instead of leaving for the Middle East or the West. Taxpayer groups counter that fully reviving the scheme has been estimated to cost around 0.6% of GDP in lost revenue, money that could go to hospitals and roads everyone actually uses. Governments have promised to kill this scheme before and then let it creep back for select groups. Does this budget actually end it for good, or does it come back disguised as a cash allowance instead of an import permit? If you're in one of these professions, has losing the permit changed how you feel about staying in Sri Lanka? නොවැම්බර් 12 අයවැයෙන් රජයේ නිලධාරීන්ගේ බද්ද රහිත වාහන බලපත්‍ර සම්පූර්ණයෙන්ම අහෝසි වේවිද, නැත්නම් වෙනත් ආකාරයකින් ආපසු එයිද?