Sri Lanka: Chinese EVs Released After Court Settlement

Colombo, Aug 7 (PTI) A settlement reached here on Thursday at the Court of Appeal would see Sri Lanka Customs releasing nearly 1,000 Chinese BYD brand electric vehicles held for alleged faulty representation of their engine power.

The importer John Keells CG Auto had petitioned the court seeking redress as the Customs continued to hold 991 cars.

The importer was accused of making declarations stating a lower motor capacity - 100 kw against actual 150 kw so that they would be charged a lower customs tariff.

The Customs tariff for a 100 kw is four million Sri Lankan rupees lower than for a 150 kw powered motor.

In the settlement reached at the court, the Customs agreed to the car importer's proposal to provide a bank guarantee for the tariff discrepancy of 3 billion Sri Lankan rupees to get the release of cars pending investigations.

At least six of the cars were to be detained to facilitate testing of actual motor capacity.

Customs officials had detained the consignment on July 28.

Earlier, in a statement, John Keells Group had denied any deliberate misleading of Sri Lanka Customs to lower the excise tax. “The motor power of these vehicles has been verified through test reports issued by BYD in China and further certified by an independent testing body”, the company clarified.

When Sri Lanka allowed car imports in February this year for the first time in five years, the BYD gained popularity with a big demand for their electric and plug-in hybrid cars.

By May, within 3 months, they had gained almost 90 per cent of the electric car market and over 10 per cent of all car sales.