Duty free vehicle bonanza:

63 new parliamentarians to get vehicle permits

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Some 63 new parliamentarians elected to the 8th Parliament on August 18 are eligible for duty free vehicle permits.

According to highly informed sources, a newly elected parliamentarian is entitled to a duty free vehicle permit worth US$ 50,000. A vehicle permit is issued to MPS who have not received a vehicle permit for the last five years.

The vehicle permits issued for parliamentarians until 2012 were not transferable within five years. However, the present vehicle permits issued to parliamentarians are transferable. Until 2012, the value of the vehicle permit was US$ 30,000 which has now been increased to US$ 50,000.

According to the source, the types of vehicles and other details have to be decided by the Cabinet.

Normally, a vehicle permit is issued to a newly- elected MP within the first two months after entering Parliament. However, the UNF Government has not yet issued any circular specifying the stipulations with regard to the vehicle permits.

A parliamentarian is also entitled to a monthly salary of Rs.80,000 including allowances, a secretary, typist, peon, driver and a research officer. A parliamentarian who lives outside the district of Colombo is entitled to official quarters at the Madiwala Parliamentary Housing Complex which can accommodate up to 110 MPs.