Attention (English)

MP (Dr.) Ramanathan Archuna raised a privilege issue in Parliament today (5) concerning his arrest by the Anuradhapura Police related to a traffic violation. During the session, the MP’s behavior turned impulsive as he diverged from the main issue, prompting multiple warnings from the Speaker to stick to the written question he had submitted. Despite these warnings, Dr. Archuna continued to make emotional and unrestrained remarks.

At one point, the MP openly expressed his frustration, directing his anger toward the entire Parliament and the Speaker. He exclaimed, “Shame on you… Shame on this Parliament,” a statement that drew immediate backlash from other members of the House. Fellow MPs criticized his conduct, and the Speaker intervened, ordering the removal of Dr. Archuna’s remarks from the official Hansard records.

Addressing a public meeting today, Deputy Minister of Agriculture Namal Karunaratne announced that the guaranteed price for paddy will be revealed in the coming days.

He stated that the ongoing struggle for fair paddy pricing, led by farmers, will soon see victory for the first time in history.

“In the past, we campaigned for a fair paddy price based on a simple principle—adding 30% to the production cost per kilo. For the first time, we will fulfill that promise.”

The Deputy Minister further explained that five institutions under the ministry have calculated the production cost of a kilo of paddy, excluding the fertilizer subsidy. This ensures that the calculation reflects the actual cost borne by farmers.

“We have factored in the cost as if farmers purchased fertilizer on their own. Adding 30% to this cost, we will soon announce a guaranteed minimum price per kilo of paddy. Additionally, government warehouses will be opened to support this initiative.”

The latest gazette notification on the import of private vehicles, signed by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in his capacity as Minister of Finance, was issued a few hours ago.

Effective February 1, the ban on several categories of vehicles—including cabs, auto-rental cars, motorcycles, bicycles, and special-purpose vehicles—has been lifted.

As a result, the import of the following vehicle categories as private vehicles under 14 HS codes is now permitted.

In line with the new tax amendments, three types of taxes have been increased. Additionally, a 3% penalty has been imposed on importers as a late registration fee.

Below are the average tax percentage increases for 20 popular vehicle models in Sri Lanka compared to the previous tax system.

The tax increase on a Wagon R/Vitz is 26%, on an Aqua it is 23%, and on a Prius, it is approximately 21%.

Some importers have already announced their prices as follows: