Cars Capped at 3 Years Old, Vans Get 5 — Fair Split or Just Protecting Someone?

Sri Lanka's vehicle import rules cap private cars at 3 years from the date of manufacture, but vans, dual-purpose vehicles and other commercial-use imports get a 5-year window. Importer groups pushed for 5 years across the board when personal imports reopened, but the government held the line on cars to protect forex reserves and keep the fleet newer and cleaner. One side says the 3-year rule is working: fewer worn-out imports, lower emissions, less pressure on the rupee from older, cheaper junk flooding in. The other side says it just pushes ordinary family buyers toward pricier, newer stock, while someone importing a double-cab or van gets two extra years of flexibility and a cheaper price point for the same age vehicle. If you've shopped recently, did the 3-year cutoff actually change what car, year or budget you ended up with? And is the van/commercial exemption fair for people who genuinely need it for work, or is it being used as a loophole by buyers who don't? මෙහෙම වෙනස්කමක් තියෙද්දී ඔයාට හිතෙනවද මේක සාධාරණයි කියලා, නැත්නම් කාටහරි වාසියක්ද?