Sri Lanka Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in Sri Lanka, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals.
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Prohibited and Restricted Imports
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As of October 2023, no import suspensions remain in place, although import licensing requirements continue to apply to a wide range of goods, from agricultural products to household items. The latest government circulars and gazettes on import restrictions and licensing requirements are available at: http://www.imexport.gov.lk/index.php/en/downloads/gazette.html

Poultry and some agricultural commodities remain subject to import license controls. Imports of chicken meat are prohibited unless destined for further processing and export. Agricultural commodities also require non-GMO certification, and Sri Lanka reserves the right to prohibit genetically modified agricultural products under the precautionary principle.

Imports of pharmaceuticals require approval from the National Medicines Regulatory Authority (NMRA) under the Ministry of Health.

The Ministry of Defense controls import of firearms and ammunition for use by the armed forces, police, and civil security. Certain military-related or dual-use items are prohibited or controlled, including radars, night-vision devices, beta lights, armored vehicles, explosion-detection equipment, digital-jamming equipment, infrared illuminators, GPS equipment, and laser designators. Imports of laser/radar range finders and thermal imaging devices require Ministry of Defense approval. Remote-controlled toys are also under license control for public security reasons.

Other restrictions apply to imports of toxic and hazardous chemicals, pesticides, and used or reconditioned air conditioners and refrigerators, which are controlled for environmental protection.

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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