Sri Lanka has slapped a 50 per cent surcharge on customs duties on vehicles in a bid to discourage imports and ease currency pressure stemming from the Middle East conflict, AFP reports.

“Given the current pressure on foreign exchange, we want people to delay their imports (of vehicles) by three months,” Junior Finance Minister Anil Jayantha Fernando tells reporters in Colombo.

Vehicle were charged a customs duty of 30pc but several other taxes make the effective import tax on a car more than 100pc.

Official figures show that Sri Lanka’s rupee has depreciated by 4.5pc against the dollar so far this year.