Sri Lanka has slashed tariffs by up to 70 per cent on India goods like cement, petroleum products and motorcycles under a bilateral trade deal.
The deal allows for a phasing out of tariffs over an eight year period, for goods that are not on a sensitive list.
Tariffs are to come down to not less than 70 per cent of the general customs duty rate this year and are to be completely removed by 2008.
The new tariff schedule has already been published as a Revenue Protection Order last week and the new tariff changes have taken effect from September 16, C S W Jayatilake, Director General of Sri Lanka Customs, said.
For imports of finished goods from India, tariffs will drop from 28 per cent to 8.40 per cent and from 2.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent for industrial raw materials and machinery, Lanka Business on Line reported on Tuesday.
For semi-processed raw materials, tariffs will come down from 6.0 per cent to 1.80 per cent and for intermediate inputs with domestic production, from 15 per cent to 4.50 per cent.
The tariff phaseout on Indian imports would cover about 2,000 goods, including petroleum products, motorcycles, cement, paper products, onions, lentils, among others.
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