Sri Lanka Customs has exceeded its monthly revenue target for the fourth consecutive month, hitting the April mark before the month closed, EconomyNext reported on Wednesday.
Customs collected Rs. 186.5 billion in the first 27 days of April against a monthly target of Rs. 181.3 billion. By the 117th day of the year it had achieved 39.4 percent of its full-year target of Rs. 2,207 billion.
The 2026 target was set 13.5 percent below the 2025 outturn on the assumption of a sharp drop in motor vehicle imports. Last year Customs delivered a record Rs. 2,551 billion, beating a revised target of Rs. 2,241 billion and 64.2 percent above the 2024 outturn.
Officials cited stronger enforcement, improved valuation practices, a rebound in import volumes after years of contraction, and tighter monitoring of under-invoicing and misdeclaration as the main drivers. Customs has been accelerating container clearance since January after Cyclone Ditwah disrupted port operations in late November.
Reserves stabilisation, the easing of certain import controls and recovering consumer demand have all lifted collections from import duties, excise and other levies. Customs has emerged as one of the Treasury’s largest revenue lines this year, providing a cushion as the government works to keep within fiscal targets under the IMF-supported programme.
Customs revenue had reached Rs. 765 billion by mid-April, even as the Hormuz disruption raised the cost of fuel imports.
