Customs Agrees to Release 991 Detained BYD Vehicles

The Director General of Sri Lanka Customs today (August 7) agreed in the Court of Appeal to release 991 BYD vehicles currently under customs detention, subject to several conditions.

This agreement was reached after the court considered a petition filed by John Keells C G Company against the detention of the vehicles.

The conditions stipulate that a state bank guarantee, amounting to approximately Rs. 3.6 billion, which is the calculated tax difference for the vehicles, must be submitted. The petitioner company also has to agree to pay the interest accrued on the guarantee.

After the petitioner's side agreed to some of the proposed conditions, the Director General of Customs expressed his consent to the court to release the vehicles.

The petition was heard before a bench comprising Court of Appeal President Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justice Priyantha Fernando.

President's Counsel Farzana Jameel, appearing for the petitioner, argued that Customs' decision to detain the imported vehicles was entirely contrary to the law. She also pointed out to the court that Customs had the authority to release the vehicles on a bank bond.

Appearing for Sri Lanka Customs, Additional Solicitor General Sumathi Dharmawardena informed the court that 997 such imported vehicles were in customs custody. He stated that a committee, consisting of two expert professors from the Universities of Moratuwa and Peradeniya and two engineers from the BYD company, had been appointed to determine whether the motor capacity of the vehicles was 100 kW or 150 kW.

**Proposal to Release Vehicles **

The Additional Solicitor General mentioned that his clients had been instructed to consider releasing the vehicles if the tax difference was calculated and deposited in the Director General of Customs' account as a security. According to this proposal, six of the vehicles would be kept for investigative purposes, and the rest would be released.