Nov 15 Shipping Cutoff Kills Old LC Exemptions — Is a Stock Crunch Coming?

The 50% customs surcharge on vehicle imports runs until 31 December 2026, but there's a quieter rule biting importers right now: even if your Letter of Credit was opened on or before 15 May 2026, you lose the exemption unless the vehicle's bill of lading shows a "shipped on board" date on or before 15 November 2026. Miss that window and the full surcharge applies no matter how early the LC was opened. Importers who banked on early paperwork are reportedly racing to get units loaded before the cutoff. One side says this is fair — the exemption was only ever meant to cover vehicles already moving through the pipeline, not open-ended cover for anyone sitting on an old LC. The other side says it punishes importers for shipping delays they don't control — port congestion, factory backlogs, carrier schedules — and that extra 50% then lands squarely on the buyer's invoice. If you're waiting on a vehicle ordered months back, do you actually know whether it made the cutoff? And if a shipment slips past 15 November, who should absorb that cost — the importer, the dealer, or you? මේ රීතිය ගැන ඔබේ වාහනයට බලපෑමක් තියෙනවද?