Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara has intervened to stop the smuggling of unregistered mobile into Sri Lanka after the Mobile Phone Importers Association apprised him regarding the organized racket of smuggling mobile phones into the country using individuals as carriers, depriving the government of tax revenue and posing a threat to the national security.
Minister Nanayakkara had explained the relevant issues to State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya as well as the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission and urged to take necessary action to stop the racket.
These facts were revealed in a discussion held today (27) between the Mobile Phone Importers Association and the Minister Nanayakkara.
The Association told the minister that due to the importation of mobile phones in the above illegal manner, in 2021 alone around USD 220 million has been transferred to foreign destinations illegally through the Undiyal system, and the tax revenue lost to the government is estimated to be around Rs. 7.8 billion.
The mobile phone importers pointed out to the minister that importing mobile phones without registration in this way also affects national security and that the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission has no record of such mobile phones.
Minister Manusha Nanayakkara assured that necessary measures to stop the illegal importation of mobile phones, which affects the country's tax revenue and national security, will be taken with the intervention of the Minister of State for Finance and the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission.
