Drop in new vehicle registations [January 05 2013]

The percentage of new vehicle registrations has gone down by 25 percent during 2012 owing to the recently introduced tax revision on vehicle imports.

Transport Deputy Minister Rohana Kumara Dissanayake said the government was compelled to increase taxes on imported vehicles as there was a rapid increase in the number of vehicles imported to the country, since the end of the war and it has resulted in increasing traffic congestion.

He said fuel consumption is also high as a result of vehicles spending so much time on the roads. This has very badly affected the whole environmental system as well.