Sri Lanka, March 4 -- The Cabinet has greenlit a strategic proposal to phase out the cess on imported goods over a four-year period, aiming to lower production costs and revitalize Sri Lanka's export-led growth.Sri Lanka travel

For years, the continuous imposition of cess and other non-customs taxes was used to protect domestic industries and generate revenue. However, this policy inadvertently inflated costs for export-oriented sectors, particularly for essential intermediate and input goods. This high cost-structure has hampered the competitiveness of Sri Lankan products in global markets.

To address this, the government will systematically remove the cess on 2,634 identified import classification codes between 2026 and 2029. The move...