Sri Lanka Customs has detained an additional 1,000 electric vehicles imported from Chinese manufacturer BYD, citing concerns over declared motor capacity, which is used to calculate import duties.
The latest seizure follows an earlier incident in which 1,000 BYD Atto 3 vehicles were held over discrepancies between the declared 100kW motor capacity and claims that the vehicles typically come with 150kW motors, attracting significantly higher taxes.
This new batch includes multiple models—200 Atto 1, 100 Atto 2, 450 Atto 3, and 250 Dolphin series vehicles—widening the scope of the investigation.
Customs officials now suspect that even some vehicles declared with as little as 49kW capacity may actually carry motors of up to 70kW, raising concerns of undervalued duty payments.
Under Sri Lankan excise regulations, a 100kW electric vehicle incurs around 2.4 million rupees in taxes, while a 150kW vehicle is taxed at nearly 5.4 million rupees.
The importer, JKCG Auto, has defended the declarations, stating that motor output in electric vehicles is software-defined, and that similar specifications are standard practice in markets like Singapore and Nepal.
The company previously released the first batch of vehicles after submitting a bank guarantee, pending the outcome of a legal dispute.
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