ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka Customs is likely to exceed its revenue target of Rs.2,115 billion set by the government for this year due to more imports and detections, its Spokesman Seevali Arukgoda said.
Sri Lanka Customs reached Rs.1,000 billion revenue target on Thursday (03), which is 47.3 percent of this year’s revenue target.
“As of today, we have exceeded our target by 50 billion rupees,” Customs Spokesman Arukgoda told EconomyNext.
“Last year, it took us nine months to achieve one trillion (1,000 billion) rupee target. But this year, we have achieved it in six months.”
“So, we are likely to exceed the target this year because there is higher seasonal import in the latter part of the year.”
Historically, Customs revenue has contributed significantly to total government income, often accounting for more than 40% of total tax revenue.
However, since the 2019 tax cuts introduced by the previous administration, Customs income has seen notable fluctuations, as reduced import duties and a sharp decline in imports during the COVID-19 pandemic drastically lowered collections between 2020 and 2022.
In 2023, Sri Lanka Customs faced the challenge of meeting ambitious revenue targets amid a fragile economic recovery and declining import volumes due to import restrictions imposed to manage the foreign exchange crisis.
“We exceeded our revenue target in the last two years. So we will be exceeding the revenue target this year for the third consecutive year,” Arukgoda said.
With the country under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) program, the government increasingly depended on Customs and Inland Revenue collections to meet fiscal benchmarks required for external financing.
The revenue targets for the Customs in both this and last years have been aimed at strengthening domestic resource mobilization and reducing fiscal deficits.
Reforms focused on improving risk-based inspection, automating clearance systems, and cracking down on revenue leakages such as under-invoicing and false declarations.
The Customs has been in the process of recovering duty from those who had been under-invoicing and declaring false information on their imports.
Consistent shortfalls in trade volumes, slow recovery in domestic demand, and smuggling challenges continue to pressure Customs’ ability to consistently meet its revenue goals. (Colombo/July 04/2025)
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