Duty-Free Permits for Officials Axed in 2027 Budget — About Time?

Sri Lanka's government has confirmed the duty-free vehicle permit scheme for public officials will be scrapped and existing permits cancelled when the 2027 Budget is read on 12 November. Around 25,000 such permits were handed out since 2020, even while an outright import ban was squeezing ordinary buyers who paid full duty on everything they drove. Supporters of scrapping it call it basic fairness — why should an official bring in a near-tax-free SUV while the rest of us budget for a 15-year-old Alto loaded with duty? Others point out senior officials and diplomats were promised these permits as part of their compensation, and pulling them now with no transition could trigger legal challenges and real resentment inside the public service. There's also the harder question of whether this actually holds, given how many past 'reforms' to this scheme got quietly watered down or extended later. Were you, or anyone you know, ever in line for one of these permits, and do you think ending it changes anything about who can actually afford to own a car here? රජයේ නිලධාරීන්ට තීරුබදු රහිත වාහන අවසර දීම නැවැත්වීම දැන් හරිම සාධාරණද, නැත්නම් ප්‍රමාද වැඩියි ද?