CMTA appoints Andrew Perera as Chairman at 105th AGM

THE Ceylon Motor Traders' Association (CMTA), one of South Asia's oldest automotive associations, recently hosted its 105th Annual General Meeting (AGM), at Hilton Residencies, Colombo. The event, which was attended by distinguished stakeholders from across the automative industry, and Chief Guest and Keynote Speaker, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce Vice Chairman Bingumal Thewarathanthri.

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Thewarathanthri addressed the gathering, highlighting the fact that the automobile industry has been advocating for the creation of a Single Window platform for years, and further stated, “We urgently need such a platform to ensure the trade is tracked properly. It would streamline the automobile trade by connecting banks, Customs, importers, exporters, logistic agencies, and shipping lines. Improved compliance and reduced opportunities for fraud or errors will lead to increased tax and duty collection. “The creation of a Single Window is estimated to take about two years, with a projected cost ranging from $ 20 million to $ 80 million.”

He added, “The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce has held discussions with Pakistan and has also received proposals from certain mature markets on this initiative, Though the government is committed to the Single Window initiative, it has not taken significant steps towards its implementation so far. Allowing trade-based money laundering to persist could have catastrophic results for the country.”