Sri Lanka, May 21 -- Economic Development Deputy Minister Dr. Anil Jayantha Fernando told Parliament yesterday that the Opposition's claim that two prominent businessmen or companies opened Letters of Credit (LCs) for 4,000 motor vehicles before the 50% Customs import duty surcharge was imposed is false and it is confirmed that a total of 1,782 LCs were opened on or before the May 15 cutoff date.

Refusing these allegations and rumours, he said the official figure of LCs opened by the deadline was only 1,782. He said a "normal" flow of roughly 7,000 units usually enters the ports. However, 9,429 vehicles have been brought to the country after May 18.

Sri Lanka closed the full year 2025 with a record high current account surplus of US$ 1....