2026-03-03 / Debate: Foreign Exchange Act Order under Section 22 of the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017 2026-03-03
## Summary
Hon. Champika Hettiarachchi spoke in support of new regulations under Section 22 of the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017, outlining two key amendments: raising the outward payment cap for resident business enterprises from USD 200,000 to USD 500,000, and increasing the personal foreign currency account limit for permissible capital transactions from USD 20,000 to USD 25,000. He contextualised these relaxations by noting an improvement in gross official reserves from approximately USD 4.39 billion in 2023 to USD 6.3 billion by January 2026, attributing earlier easing to IMF debt restructuring requirements rather than economic expansion. The speaker argued that the new measures, determined independently by the Central Bank, are intended to attract foreign direct investment and support Sri Lankan entrepreneurs in expanding into regional markets such as India and Africa. He also criticised the Opposition, alleging their emphasis on instability undermines investor confidence and serves narrow political objectives.
Mr. Deputy Speaker, although today’s agenda is the new Regulation under Section 22 of the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017, many spoke about the global and domestic situation. We remember our own 30-year war—and wars worldwide—are largely the result of decisions by rulers. We are not hypocrites; we express condolences for all who suffer, irrespective of nationality, ethnicity or religion.
The irony is that some who now shed crocodile tears over war were the ones who paved the way for mayhem here—organising or exploiting the Easter attacks to gain power, and now protesting as investigations proceed. Having failed to seize power through such violence, they tried to use fuel queues via their media to create artificial panic. The President rightly said that if anyone is planning to use queues to grab power in future, that path will be closed.
On the Act: since 2017 it has been amended roughly every six months. In 2023 conditions were relaxed pursuant to the IMF programme—to support debt restructuring, not because the economy had massively expanded. Then, gross official reserves were about USD 4.39 billion; by end-January this year, about USD 6.3 billion. We restarted certain imports, including vehicles. LCs of around USD 2.4 billion have been opened, with about USD 1.9 billion already paid. With USD 6.3 billion in reserves, we are now easing rules to facilitate investment.
Under today’s Regulation, the cap on outward payments through foreign currency accounts by resident business enterprises is increased from USD 200,000 to USD 500,000; and for residents’ personal foreign currency accounts for permissible capital transactions from USD 20,000 to USD 25,000. These are Central Bank determinations—an independent institution—which the Government accepts.
We expect these relaxations to attract FDI and enable our capable entrepreneurs to expand regionally—India and Africa are growing markets. We also note that when the Opposition harps on instability, it harms investor confidence. Their objective is political, but its effect is to drag the country back to 2022. We urge them to stop trying to burn the house down for power.
After five years of a vehicle import halt, we have restarted in an orderly way aligned with modern technology, while digitising and moving industry forward. Thank you, Mr. Deputy Speaker, for the time.