Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe addressed claims regarding the imposition of a Rs. 65 tax on imported rice, clarifying that the tax was not introduced by the current government.
He emphasized that the import tariff, initially imposed on May 18, 2023, was approved by the previous administration, long before the National People’s Power (NPP) took office after the presidential election on September 14, 2024.
He explained that the NPP government, upon taking office, only renewed the tax as part of their efforts to maintain fairness for both farmers and consumers.
“We did not impose the tax, we merely continued it,” Samarasinghe asserted.
However, according to the Advocata Institute, the Rs. 65 import tariff has made imported rice 50% more expensive, worsening malnutrition and contradicting the goal of lowering prices through price caps.
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