Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed the government to submit a report on goods of which the imports can be temporarily restricted.  He made these remarks at the 20th session of the National Economic Council (NEC) in Colombo yesterday.

The NEC deliberated extensively on measures that Sri Lanka should take in the context of challenges arising due to the appreciation of the US Dollar globally.

Special attention was paid to restricting the import of non-essential goods as a temporary measure, while encouraging local substitutes. The President also pointed out that the country’s prevailing negative balance of trade can be neutralized by prudent measures to revise the import of non-essential items when combined with a proper mechanism to collect the due levies at point of custom clearance.

NEC also reviewed the present screening system at Sri Lanka customs and emphasized the need to screen all containers instead of the present system of random screening at Sri Lanka customs. The moves came as Sri Lankan rupee has come under pressure which has invited criticism from opposition groups.