The government has decided to enforce the law against the air passengers who smuggle in gold into Sri Lanka wearing as jewelry, State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said. State Minister Siyambalapitiya said necessary measures have been taken to ban the arrival of passengers wearing gold jewellery with more than 22 carats without the permission of the Comptroller General of Import and Export.
The State Minister said at a media briefing that about 50 kg of gold is smuggled into Sri Lanka every day by air passengers carrying gold items.
He said that misusing the relaxed restrictions on the quality or amount of gold jewellery that an air passenger is allowed to wear on a regular basis, certain individuals leave for neighboring countries and return with 24-carat gold jewelry.
He noted that the new restriction will not be applicable to migrant workers returning to the country or normal air passengers. According to the Minister, due to the smuggling of gold, the government incurs a loss of nearly USD 30 million in income monthly.
Meanwhile, Customs officials have been instructed to use special techniques to ascertain the condition and quantities of gold items. The gazette notification pertaining to this decision will be issued in the coming week, the state minister added.
The decision was taken after studying a report handed over by the Customs Director General to Finance State Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya recently.
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