Govt. increases Special Commodity Levy on Palm Oil

COLOMBO (News1st): The government has increased the Special Commodity Levy on palm oil by Rs 100 with effect from April 10. News1st, this week exclusively reported that the commodity levy would be hiked as the Sri Lankan rupee continued to depreciate against the US dollar, with the selling rate soaring past Rs 200. A document sent by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, in his capacity as minister of finance, economic, and policy development, to the customs department showed that the tax hike will be in effect for three months. Accordingly, the levy on the final product of palm oil which stood at Rs 200 has been increased to Rs 300 while the levy imposed on its intermediate and raw products were also increased proportionately.