Army Equipment in Sri Lanka

Start with what cannot be shipped. Military and dual-use goods — radars, night-vision devices, armoured vehicles, digital jamming equipment, infrared illuminators, laser designators, GPS and thermal imaging — are either prohibited outright or require Ministry of Defence approval. Firearms and ammunition sit under the same ministry and may be imported only for the armed forces, the police and civil security. We supply no weapons and no ammunition, and we will not price a controlled dual-use line on the assumption that an approval will arrive later. A procurement officer is better served by a clear refusal than by a quotation that cannot be cleared.

What is left to buy commercially

The lines in this division that move as ordinary commercial goods are clothing, footwear, riot protection and general field stores: anti-riot armour described as stab and shock resistant, police vests with hydration bags, gumboots, flood lighting, telescopic search kits, bomb suppression blankets and dual zone door frame metal detectors. Anything carrying a night-vision or thermal element is a different category, and the end user should raise it with the Ministry of Defence before an enquiry is placed, not after an order has been confirmed.

No deposit until the buyer is registered with Customs

Extraordinary Gazette 2493/39 of 18 June 2026 changed how advance payments work. A bank may process an advance import payment only after verifying the importer's Sri Lanka Customs registration, must assign a unique transaction number to each import foreign-exchange payment, and must report the proforma invoice number to Customs. The practical consequences are two: a buyer who is not yet Customs-registered cannot wire a deposit, and the proforma invoice number becomes a tracked reference, so numbering must stay consistent from proforma through to final invoice.

Duty is the smallest part of the bill

The tax stack cascades. Customs Import Duty, EDB CESS, PAL, Excise, Surcharge, SSCL and VAT at 18% apply in sequence, with VAT and SSCL computed on CIF plus 10% of CIF plus duty plus CESS plus PAL plus excise plus surcharge. A duty-free tariff line can still carry a substantial landed cost, and quoting duty alone will understate it materially.

Colombo, and a scheme that does not reach this equipment

Containers arrive at Colombo in practice — Jaya Container Terminal, South Asia Gateway Terminals, Colombo International Container Terminals or West Container Terminal. Hambantota, Trincomalee and Galle take negligible container import volume. The Compulsory Import Inspection Scheme run by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution under Gazette 2064/34 covers a designated list of food, construction materials and consumer electricals; this equipment is not on it. Mains items should be built for 230 V and the Type G outlet, which has been the single standard since sale of non-compliant sockets was banned in August 2018.

Whether warranty, installation, training or ongoing parts supply apply is decided by the supply contract, and each is quoted with the machines.