• Aims to curb revenue leakage from misuse of de minimis exemptions
• Surge in high-value imports prompts tighter controls on e-commerce channels
• Customs to propose additional policy measures to Finance Ministry
• Revenue from e-commerce imports quadruples to Rs. 600 b after ending de minimis rule

Sri Lanka Customs plans to issue regulations governing e-commerce imports in the near future.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Sri Lanka Customs Director and Media Spokesperson Chandana Punchihewa said: “We had a meeting with several e-commerce platforms on Monday (17), where we announced that we would issue new regulations governing e-commerce.” 

He further stated that the formulation of regulations to govern e-commerce was essential considering that there was increased adoption of e-commerce by consumers with the proliferation of technology. 

Punchihewa pointed out that imports had surged due to the application of the de minimis rule for e-commerce imports, with many instances of the process being abused to import goods of extremely high value, leading to a loss of revenue for the Government.

“We observed that e-commerce imports had become an illegal channel to import goods. Once the volumes reached the current levels, it became impossible to allow this to continue considering the scale of the revenue leakage,” he stated.

Commenting on the potential timeline for the issuance of the regulations, he stated that since these regulations would be formulated internally, they could be issued as early as two weeks from now.

Punchihewa stated that in addition to these regulations, Customs would be recommending certain policy measures to the Ministry of Finance concerning e-commerce imports. However, he acknowledged that the implementation of these policy recommendations would take some time, as they required approval at both the ministerial and Cabinet level.

He further revealed that following the removal of the de minimis rule, the revenue collected by Sri Lanka Customs from e-commerce imports had quadrupled to around Rs. 600 billion in 2025 compared to Rs. 150 billion raised in 2024.

The de minimis principle refers to the exemption of small or low-value import consignments from customs duties, a practice widely recognised and implemented by customs authorities across the globe.