US$ 64.7mn vanishes in under-invoiced Rolls Royce Ghost import; Harsha exposes phantom economics:
Opposition lawmaker and UNP Economic Spokesman Dr. Harsha De Silva urged the authorities to investigate an under invoiced importation of a Rolls Royce Ghost series luxury saloon which has cost the government tax revenue worth a whopping US$ 64.7 million.
Speaking to journalists yesterday (01), the law maker said the Customs document for the imported Rolls Royce Ghost revealed a purchase price of US$ 175,000 and due to the huge tax rate on imported luxury vehicles, total taxes on its importation amounted to US$ 61.7 million.
“We checked the Rolls Royce website and found that the purchase price of a Rolls Royce Ghost was around US$ 360,000. Therefore the taxes on this importation should have amounted to US$ 126.4 million,” Dr. De Silva said.
The government has lost US$ 64.7 million in the bargain.
“We are not going to accuse anyone of anything, but we urge the authorities to take a closer look in to this matter,” Dr. De Silva said, adding that the Rolls Royce could not have been brought down by a duty-free vehicle import permit holder, as the maximum limit was US$ 50,000 which applied to parliamentarians.
He also discounted the vehicle being second hand. “The Rolls Royce Ghost is fairly new, so there is no-way anyone would sell it off for half its price.
Dr. De Silva waved a copy of the Customs document in question at yesterday’s media briefing, but declined to disclose the name of the importer.
Dr. De Silva, who often accused the government of practicing crony-capitalism, said the authorities should investigate this under invoiced Rolls Royce import and take action against the offenders.
The Island
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“We checked the Rolls Royce website and found that the purchase price of a Rolls Royce Ghost was around US$ 360,000. Therefore the taxes on this importation should have amounted to US$ 126.4 million,” Dr. De Silva said.
The government has lost US$ 64.7 million in the bargain.
What ever you may say if and when ever an election is held in Sri Lanka the people will vote in one block to the UPFA and all your allegations will be proved false by the people’s virdict. Await and see what whether this is true or false till the very next PC elections to be held this year and the Presidential Elections to be held next year.
There’s something wrong here. No sane person in the World will ever buy a Rolls Royce for a total landed cost of US $ 126.8 million.
For that amount of money, one can buy a couple luxury private jets or even a dozen of luxury helicopters.
If the Govt of Sri Lanka anticipates taxes of US $ 126.4 m for a RR, they must be living somewhere else and not in this world.
Maybe the GOSL did this so that Wimpy Wicks and his band of clowns would pick it up and become the laughing stock of the international community.
Harsha(UNP MP) claims corruption on govt part. He failed to disclose who imported the RR. It could have been a UNP bigwig.
When RW was PM, he signed away the N & E of SL claimed by LTTE as their land for autonomy. This was utter treachery! This is against our Constitution and should be punishable by death penalty! What is the perceived corruption claimed by Harsha compared to this total betrayal of the Motherland by RW? It would have led to LTTE capturing the whole of the our country as their eelam land and annexing with Tamil Nadu to create an empire ruled by VP. But Hon President MR gave RW an amnesty, through a spirit of Buddhadarma!
I hope anyway the Customs authority impound the vehicle involved to investigate further any malpractice.
You cannot use the wrongs of Ranil to right the wrongs of this government.
Ranil and MR are one entity.