Sri Lanka Customs
Encyclopedia
Sri Lanka Customs is a non-ministerial government department
Non-ministerial government department
A non-ministerial government department is a department or ministry of a government that is not headed by a Government Minister or Government Secretary, and answers directly to a legislature ....

, which performs the duties of collecting customs
Customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting and safeguarding customs duties and for controlling the flow of goods including animals, transports, personal effects and hazardous items in and out of a country...

 duties and other taxes and levies in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. It comes under the purview of the Ministry of Finance. Head of the Sri Lanka Customs is the Director General of Customs, Mrs. Sudharma Karunarathne.

The department works with the powers vested under the Customs Ordinance (chapter 235). In addition to this it enacts several other related enactments. The major functions of the department includes the collection of government revenue as customs duty and other levies on behalf of several other government authorities, safe guarding the country at the entry point. It has limited policing powers, such as arresting suspects and confiscating contraband.

Formally known as HM Ceylon Customs from 1947 to 1972, the department can trace its roots to 1806. However the history of collection of customs duties in Sri Lanka dates far back as 2nd century BC.
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