These comments were in response to a statement made by Co-cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardana on Thursday (23) where he suggested that vehicle importers are not clearing imported vehicles as they have no space to stock the vehicles on their premises as they have no sales these days. “Imported vehicles have piled up at ports. The SLPA Chairman told me that importers are allowing vehicles to remain at the port because they (vehicle importers) do not have sales these days and therefore might have storage issues if they clear these vehicles. However, this is leading to massive congestion within the ports. We are urging them to clear these imports as soon as possible. There are 6,600 imported vehicles at the Port of Hambantota and 533 vehicles at the Port of Colombo,” Gunawardana had said. However, the VIASL believes that the Minister is exaggerating the number of vehicles that are yet to be cleared at both ports. “There cannot be 500 vehicles in the Colombo Port unless a brand new shipment has arrived. Even two or three days ago there were only 50-100 vehicles left. Our importers have been clearing vehicles over the past two weeks. There can be comparatively higher vehicles at the Hambantota Port, but I highly doubt if there are 6,600 vehicles,” Merenchige pointed out. For further clarification, The Sunday Morning Business spoke to an official from the Hambantota Port, who told us that there are about 6,000 imported vehicles at the port and this number might change if a new shipment arrives or gets cleared. However, the official noted that importers have been clearing the vehicles in the past few days and the number of 6,000 vehicles is the accumulated number since even before curfew. The official added that considering the prevailing situation and restrictions in transportation, importers are given a grace period until 30 April to clear their imports from the port before which they will not be charged a late fee. According to Merenchige, delays in clearing imports have been mainly due to the prevailing restriction and difficulty in obtaining permits. “Even though we obtain permits to travel, how can we send people in such a dangerous environment? How can we risk the lives of people? We have to think of everything,” he stated. Meanwhile, Minister Gunawardana noted that they have set up a committee headed by Deputy Inspector General Muditha Pussella to facilitate vehicle importers and assist them in clearing their imports. “If importers encounter any issues with regard to permits or other issues in clearing the vehicles, they can reach IGP Pussella,” Gunawardana added. Merenchige responded to this saying that when clearing vehicles, importers are required to submit a Letter of Credit (LC) but the banks are hesitant to provide LCs at the moment. He added that even though the Government is willing to help them get the vehicles cleared, banks’ support is also required. The vehicle industry is one of the worst-affected industries since late 2018 due to the October crisis, Easter Sunday attacks, and now Covid-19. Vehicle registrations plunged to a dramatic low late last year. – Madhusha Thavapalakumar