Customs revenue target at Rs. 2,206 b for 2026

• Total revenue collection at Rs. 2,540.3 b as of 30 Dec. 2025
• Dec. 2025 revenue exceeds expectations

Sri Lanka Customs’ revenue target has been set at Rs. 2,206 billion for 2026 – lower than the amount achieved in 2025 – reflecting an anticipated decline in vehicle import volumes.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Sri Lanka Customs Media Spokesman Chandana Punchihewa revealed that the Ministry of Finance had set Customs a revenue target of Rs. 2,206 billion for the year. 

He noted that the figure was lower than both the revised target for 2025 and the actual revenue collected, given an anticipated drop in revenue from vehicle imports. 

“We expect vehicle import volumes to decline compared to last year, as the market appears to be saturated. The ministry is also projecting the same, so it has set a target of Rs. 2,206 billion for 2026,” he said.

Commenting on the revenue generated by Customs in 2025, Punchihewa revealed that as of 30 December 2025, total revenue collection had amounted to Rs. 2,540.3 billion, comfortably surpassing both the initial and revised targets set for the year.

“Our initial target for 2025 was Rs. 2,115 billion. It was later revised to Rs. 2,231 billion in December 2025,” he stated.

He pointed out that the revenue generated in 2025 had shattered the previous record high of Rs. 1,500 billion.

Punchihewa further noted that revenue collected in December 2025 had exceeded expectations, since imports, which typically slowed by mid-December, had remained high until the end of the year owing to the impact of Cyclone Ditwah. 

“Imports usually start to reduce by mid-December. However, this did not happen on this occasion because we had a slight dip during the first week of December due to the cyclone. As a result, some import volumes may have been pushed to the latter half of the month. 

“We also saw imports for reconstruction and relief. As a result, we did not observe a slowdown in import volumes compared to previous years. In fact, on Tuesday (30 December), we collected around Rs. 20 billion, which is double the usual average for this period,” he stated.

Source: The morning