Public interest litigation activist Nagananda Kodituwakku has warned that he will initiate legal proceedings against the Director General of Customs unless the department resumes its investigation into an alleged Rs. 16 billion revenue fraud involving the importation of BMW vehicles, The Island reported.
Kodituwakku, General Secretary of the Vinivida Foundation and a former Customs officer, said he intends to act against Director General Wimal S.K. Liyanagama under the Anti-Corruption Act No. 9 of 2023 if the inquiry is not revived. He alleges the state lost around Rs. 16 billion in revenue on the import of 1,728 brand-new BMW cars brought in under concessionary duty permit schemes between 2011 and 2014.
According to the activist, the vehicles were not imported by the permit holders themselves, and the values declared on import invoices did not reflect the actual worth of the cars. He argues that this allowed importers to claim concessionary duty rates to which they were not entitled, depriving the Treasury of substantial revenue.
Kodituwakku noted that the Court of Appeal dismissed the importers’ final appeal on May 7, 2024, clearing the way for a full Customs inquiry. Despite that ruling, he says no meaningful action has since been taken to recover the lost revenue.
The long-running case has drawn repeated calls for accountability over concessionary vehicle permits, a scheme that has previously been criticised for exposing the state to significant revenue leakage.
