Amidst day by day falling rupee against several major currencies whilst US Dollar had hit Rs. 172 level and Euro had hit Rs. 201 level, Sri Lanka’s financial market regulator Central bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) issuing a directive on 10^th October 2018 said that Authorized Dealers are not permitted to release foreign exchange which involves conversion of Sri Lanka Rupees for making payments for the importation of non-essential consumer goods as specified in List.

“In terms of the Section 9 (1) of the Foreign Exchange Act No. 12 of 2017, Authorized Dealers are hereby informed that with effect from 10th October 2018, Authorized Dealers are not permitted to release foreign exchange which involves conversion of Sri Lanka Rupees for making payments for the importation of non-essential consumer goods as specified in Annex I under the advance payment (Cash in Advance) terms” the official communique from CBSL said.

The communique further added that Authorized Dealers should apprise customers or the importers of goods on this requirement and are required to comply with this direction until further notice.

The Full List is below