The Transport Ministry will declare a three month concessionary period from September to November for arrears payment on annual taxes for luxury, semi-luxury and semi-luxury dual purpose vehicles.
As per the Finance Act No 16 of 1995, an annual tax should be paid by the registered owner of the vehicle for seven years since its initial registration. The first installment of these taxes is charged with the first registration of the vehicle by the Motor Traffic Department.
The remaining installments are charged by the insuring entity when obtaining the annual insurance cover and will be sent to the Treasury.
The Transport Ministry said the total due amount of this tax is above Rs 350 million, even though there is a penalty charge of 50 percent for late payments. Considering that such omissions may be due to reasons beyond the control of vehicle owners, the ministry is declaring this concession while charging only 5 percent of the penalty.