Sri Lanka will tax Maldives fish imports at 102 rupees a kilogram, turmeric not ground at 102 rupees and others at 360 rupees a kilogram under a special commodity levy, a para tax.

The special commodity is a more simplified and transparent tax that other taxes charged on imports which tend to cascade to over 100 percent of the value.

Grated cheese, used in hotels and restaurants will be taxed at 200 per kilogram, coriander seeds, widely used as a spice for cooking in South Asia and also as fever medicine will be taxed at 26 rupees whole and 52 rupees crushed.

Western medicine imported from India is usually tax free.

Sri Lanka has not only raised taxes of some items after a bout of money printing de-stabilized the rupee in March but also banned imports outright in the worst trade controls seen since the 1970s hitting an economy that is recovering from a Coronavirus lockdown.

Sri Lanka’s growth has faltered in recent years amid monetary instability and also rising trade barriers. Imports tend to be a tax on exports.

https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-para-taxes-maldive-fish-at-rs102-turmeric-imports-at-rs360kg-72518/