Zero-Mileage 'Used' Imports Get a 15% Tax Break — Loophole or Fair Deal?

Here's a quiet gap in the tax code getting louder: register a brand-new car overseas for a few weeks, then ship it to Sri Lanka as "used," and Customs values it at 15% less than the identical model costs an authorised agent importing it brand-new. The Ceylon Motor Traders' Association says that single concession cost the state about Rs 40 billion in 2025, with the leakage estimate climbing toward Rs 120 billion by September 2026, and pushed hard for the 2027 Budget to scrap it. The Budget presented this month left the concession untouched. Dealers call it a straight distortion: the car isn't meaningfully "used," it undercuts authorised agents who pay full duty, and it bleeds state revenue for nothing in return. Buyers and private importers see it differently, with duties already brutal, a near-new car at a 15% lower valuation is one of the few ways left to land something recent without brand-new pricing. If you've bought or imported a vehicle this way, was the saving real once you added up the paperwork and risk? Should the concession be capped to actual low mileage instead of being scrapped outright, or is "scrap it" the only honest fix? මේ 15% සහනය තියෙන්න ඕනද නැද්ද? ඔබේ අදහස මොකක්ද?