Sri Lanka Customs publishes exact bans and exact volumes. A false declaration costs you the allowance itself.
What to declare, and to whom
“Foreign currencies, Gold jewelleries, Goods under FRIC or CARNET, GEMS should be declared to the Customs Arrival No 1 Officer.”
Banned outright
Two categories cannot come in at any quantity. There is no allowance to declare.
- Tobacco: “Cigarettes, Cigars, Beedies and Snuff are not allowed to be imported to Sri Lanka as personal baggage (accompanied or unaccompanied).”
- Fresh fruit, by air: “All fruits including Apples, Grapes, Mangoes, Peaches, Kiwi etc. are not allowed to be imported by air in personal baggage. All such items will be referred to the plant quarantine unit at BIA and will be destroyed.”
Allowances
Sri Lankans and residents have a published volume allowance: “Alcoholic Liquor not exceeding two and a half liters, wine not exceeding two liters and perfumed spirits not exceeding a quarter liter”. It is a volume limit with no currency value.
Customs also publishes a monetary duty-free allowance by time spent abroad. One bracket reads “Less than 90 days”. In the row we captured, the amount and its currency ran together, so we cannot say what it is worth. Confirm it with Sri Lanka Customs before you fly.
A section headed “With Additional Duty Free Allowance” covers passengers who remit foreign currency. Its tiers and figures are not in the text we can quote, so we do not name them.
Going over, and lying
Goods over your allowance pay duty: “Goods of which value exceeds the allowance of passenger are taxed at the normal rates appearing in the schedule of import duties and TT and Excise Duties are levied at appropriate rates.”
A false declaration costs more: “If any passenger knowingly or wilfully makes a declaration which is false or inaccurate he shall not be entitled to any exceptions under regulations and shall be liable to be dealt with under the provisions of the Customs Ordinance.” You lose the allowance and can be prosecuted.
Dual citizens
“All dual citizens should possess and have used the Sri Lankan Passport while travelling to enjoy the rights and privileges of a Sri Lankan Citizen.” Travelling on your other passport is enough to forfeit the citizen allowance.
Taking things out
Anything “older than 100 years is considered an antique and exportation is restricted. Prior approval from the Department of Archaeology should be obtained.” Exporting a gemstone or other precious stone “should be processed through the National Gem and Jewelry Authority (NGJA)”.
Figures we could not quote
Customs publishes several allowances inside tables. In the captured text, figures run together and currencies are not always attached to the numbers beside them. The duty-free allowance table and the remittance tiers both have this problem. Use the Customs page for those.
Questions
Confirm any duty-free figure, or a dual-citizen privilege that matters to your trip, with the Customs Information Desk, Customs House, Colombo: +94 11 2221333.