Special Commodity Levy revised on essential food imports from November 13
Photo: Daily MirrorAI summary · 1 min read
1 min readFrom 3 outlets- Daily Mirror and Lanka Business Online report the SCL on sprats and Maldive fish will be Rs. 10 per kilogram from November 13, 2026.
- Lanka Business Online reports a Rs. 50-per-kilogram reduction for dried chilies and a Rs. 10-per-kilogram increase for imported sugar.
- Daily Mirror reports PAL on imported newsprint and solar-storage batteries will end on January 1, 2027.
- EconomyNext reports a 25% CESS cut for 800 import items, with an annual revenue loss of Rs. 10 billion; it estimates the PAL changes will cost the state Rs. 350 million.
Daily Mirror and Lanka Business Online report that Sri Lanka’s 2027 Budget revises the Special Commodity Levy (SCL) on selected imported foods, with the new rates beginning November 13, 2026. Daily Mirror says President Anura Kumara Dissanayake announced the sprats and Maldive fish change while presenting the budget.
Daily Mirror and Lanka Business Online report that the SCL for imported sprats and Maldive fish is set at Rs. 10 per kilogram. Lanka Business Online says the levy on dried chilies, both powdered and unpowdered, will decrease by Rs. 50 per kilogram, while the charge on imported sugar will rise by Rs. 10 per kilogram.
Lanka Business Online reports that importers and wholesale traders must use the new rates when clearing shipments from November 13. It says the food levy adjustments are intended to ease household costs while addressing domestic-market considerations; it also reports that the sugar increase is meant to bolster public revenue and assist local sugarcane producers. The outlet expects retail prices to adjust in the following days.
Daily Mirror reports that the Ports and Airports Development Levy (PAL) on imported newsprint and batteries for solar-energy storage will be removed from January 1, 2027. EconomyNext separately reports a 25% reduction in CESS across 800 imported items, estimating an annual revenue decline of Rs. 10 billion from that change and a Rs. 350 million cost to the state from the PAL revisions.
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