Sri Lanka Customs ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා රේගුව, Shri Lanka Reguwa, ta, இலங்கை சுங்கச் சாவடி ) is a
non-ministerial government department. The main functions of the department are,
* Collection of revenue
* Prevention of revenue leakages and other frauds
* Facilitation of legitimate trade
* Collection of import and export data to provide statistics.
* Cooperation and coordination with other Government Departments and stakeholders in respect of imports and export
The executive responsible is the
director general, currently
Major General
Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...
Vijitha Ravipriya, appointed in February 2020.
Formally known as ''HM Customs'' from 1947 to 1972, the department can trace its roots to 1806.
Formally, the agency as it exists today was formed under the Customs Ordinance No. 17 of 1869, to which 51 amendments have been made to date. Being a center for trade in the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...
since antiquity, however, the history of collection of customs duties in Sri Lanka dates far back as the second century BC.. "''According to the inscription of King Gajaba I (112-134 A.D.) the customs duty collected from the Godapavata Harbour had been donated to the Godapavata monastery. This is the only written evidence so far discovered to say that there had been a harbour in situ. With the discovery of Roman and other foreign coins from the archaeological excavations done at the site, this can be identified as an ancient trade centre of some importance. The remains that can be identified from the Godapavata monastery are the pillars, pillar foundations and brick monuments. From the inscriptions and other architectural remains it can be assumed that this monastery received support from the kings
'
The department works with the powers vested under the Customs Ordinance, as well as through several other related enactments. As such, it has vested with the powers, such as in the areas of the arrest and detention of suspects contravening customs and import/export laws, as well as the confiscation of contraband.
The Director General has direct control of all the directorates and among them, five are under his personal supervision. Rest of the 25 directorates are headed by Directors under the supervision of five Additional Director Generals (ADGC) and Chief Financial Officer( CFO). Among the five Additional Director Generals four are the most senior Customs Officers. The other ADGC is appointed from the Administrative Service of Sri Lanka.
See also
*
Colombo Harbour
The Port of Colombo (known as Port of Kolomtota during the early 14th Century Kotte Kingdom) is the largest and busiest port in Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean. Located in Colombo, on the southwestern shores on the Kelani River, it serves as an i ...
*
Economy of Sri Lanka
The free-market economy of Sri Lanka was worth $84 billion by nominal gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 and $296.959 billion by purchasing power parity (PPP). The country had experienced an annual growth of 6.4 percent from 2003 to 2012, well a ...
*
List of airports in Sri Lanka
*
List of ports in Sri Lanka
The following is a list of ports in Sri Lanka. All ports and harbours in Sri Lanka are maintained and governed by the Government of Sri Lanka and the Sri Lanka Ports Authority.
List of ports
See also
* '
External links
Sri Lanka Ports ...
References
External links
Sri Lanka Customs
Customs
Customs
Customs services
Taxation in Sri Lanka
{{tax-stub