Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2023-04-17

Submission of the Order made as per the provisions of the Ports and Airports Development Levy Act, No.18 of 2011 to Parliament for approval

- The President in his capacity as Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies has proposed through the Budget 2023 to gradually remove para-tariffs such as the Ports and Airports Development Levy and Commodity Export Subsidy Scheme Levy (CESS) in order to promote the manufacturing industry, remove the existing barriers to international trade and provide the necessary incentives and facilities for the local industries and projects including agriculture. By taking action as such, it is expected to balance the impact caused to the Government revenue through the Customs Import Duty. This programme has been identified as a prior-action to be fulfilled as a part of the Development Policy Financing Programme of the World Bank. Accordingly, as the initial step, an Order has been issued under the provisions of the Ports and Airports Development Levy Act, No.18 of 2011 to exempt 1,631 selected tariff items from the Ports and Airports Development Levy on the basis of incurring minimum revenue losses to the Government. Accordingly, the proposal made by the President in his capacity as Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies to submit the said Order to Parliament for approval, was approved by the Cabinet.