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. |