Imported Tyres Need SLS Certification From Jan 2027 — Safety or Protectionism?

From 1 January 2027, every imported passenger car tyre and three-wheeler tyre must meet Sri Lanka Standards (SLS 1212 for cars, SLS 1347 for trishaws) to clear customs. Cabinet approved the rule in October, with the stated reasons being road safety and a 'fair competitive environment' for local manufacturers. The gazette was rushed out within weeks, and some MPs have already publicly questioned whether it was pushed through too fast, with cronyism concerns floated in Parliament. One side: a lot of cheap unbranded imports really are dangerous — thin tread, poor compound, no real testing — and a safety floor is overdue, especially for trishaws carrying passengers daily. The other side: this quietly hands pricing power to whichever local manufacturers already hold SLS approval, and the rest of us pay more for tyres that aren't necessarily any safer, just better paperworked. If you've run both imported and locally made tyres on the same vehicle, how did they actually compare on grip, wear and price? And do you trust an SLS sticker to mean a tyre is genuinely safer? ටයර් එකක ආරක්ෂාව තීරණය කරන්නේ සහතිකයද, එහෙම නැත්නම් මිලද?