Levy of 3.5% on credit, debit card foreign purchases
A 3.5% levy is to be slapped on all foreign purchase transactions with credit or debit cards. The Government has Gazetted an amendment to the Finance Act of 2018 last week to impose the ‘Foreign Commercial Transactions Levy’ on every transaction through a card payment for purchase any goods or services from outside the country.
The rate of the levy will be 3.5 percent on the sum remitted outside Sri Lanka for such transactions.
Previously, a Stamp Duty of 2.5 percent was applied to foreign commercial transactions made by cards, and now it has been increased by 1 percent and converted to a Levy, Finance Ministry’s Tax Policy Advisor Thanuja Perera told the Daily News. Perera also said the previous Stamp Duty had only applied to credit card payments, whereas the new levy applies to both credit and debit cards. The effective date of the new levy will be gazetted by the Finance Minister once the law is approved by Parliament.
(Source: Daily News – By Disna Mudalige)

Latest Headlines in Sri Lanka
- Duminda Dissanayake remanded until May 29 over gold-plated T56 firearm May 24, 2025
- Sri Lanka probing use of Rs. 22 Trillion obtained through loans May 24, 2025
- Sri Lankan PM assures no land will be taken from people in North and East May 24, 2025
- Malini Fonseka passes away May 24, 2025
- Deputy Commissioner and two DMT officials arrested with Rs. 4 Million in bribes May 23, 2025