Sri Lanka Import Duty & Landed Cost Calculator

Sri Lankan import levies stack on one another, and each one is charged on a different base. Enter your shipment value and the rates for your HS code to see every levy worked out on the base Sri Lanka Customs publishes for it, down to a landed cost.

Shipment value

Charged after duty, so they sit outside every tax base.

Rates for your HS code

The filled rates are examples, not a quote. Replace each one with the current tariff rates for your HS code.

For a tariff unit rate, enter the total for the shipment. It replaces the percentage Excise input.

Enter the total from the tariff unit rate. When SCL applies, it replaces the other levies above.

Sri Lanka Customs tariff lookup

CIF value

LKR 1,135,000

FOB + freight + insurance

Total landed cost

LKR 1,807,861

levies add 52.7% to CIF

How each levy is calculated

Customs formula
LevyCharged onRateAmount
Customs Import DutyCIFLKR 1,135,00015%LKR 170,250
CessCIFLKR 1,135,0000%LKR 0
PALCIFLKR 1,135,00010%LKR 113,500
Excise (Special Provisions) DutyCIF + 15% + duty + cess + PALLKR 1,589,0000%LKR 0
SurchargeCustoms dutyLKR 170,2500%LKR 0
SSCLCIF + 10% + duty + cess + PAL + excise + surchargeLKR 1,532,2502.5%LKR 38,306
VATCIF + 10% + duty + cess + PAL + excise + surchargeLKR 1,532,25018%LKR 275,805
Total leviesLKR 597,861

The 2026 Customs guide charges Cess on CIF. VAT and SSCL use CIF plus 10%, duty, Cess, PAL, Excise and any surcharge. Excise uses CIF plus 15%, duty, Cess and PAL. Check your HS code for unit rates, exemptions and Special Commodity Levy before relying on the total.

Landed cost

CIF value
LKR 1,135,000
Total levies
LKR 597,861
Clearing & local charges
LKR 75,000
Total cost
LKR 1,807,861

Every levy is charged on a different base

This is the part that makes import duty hard to estimate by hand. The levies do not all apply to the same value, and they stack: each is charged on a base that already contains the ones before it.

The 2026 guide charges Cess on CIF. Percentage Excise uses CIF plus fifteen percent and earlier levies; VAT and SSCL use CIF plus ten percent and earlier levies, including any surcharge.

The base each levy is charged on
LevyCharged on
Customs Import DutyCIF
CessCIF
PALCIF
Excise (Special Provisions)CIF + 15% + duty + Cess + PAL, or a unit-rate total
SurchargeCustoms duty
SSCLCIF + 10% + duty + Cess + PAL + Excise + surcharge
VATCIF + 10% + duty + Cess + PAL + Excise + surcharge

Start from CIF, not from the invoice

CIF is cost, insurance, and freight added together - what the goods cost plus what it cost to get them here and insure them on the way. Every levy is ultimately calculated from it, so an error in the freight figure moves the entire duty bill.

Charges that arise after the goods land - clearing, handling, storage, local transport - are not part of CIF and are not taxed. They belong in the landed cost but outside every tax base, which is why this calculator keeps them separate.

Why the total exceeds the sum of the rates

Because the levies compound. A 15% duty, 10% PAL, and 18% VAT do not add to 43% of CIF - VAT is charged on a base that already includes the duty and the PAL and the ten percent uplift, so the effective total is higher.

The figure worth comparing across products is total levies as a percentage of CIF, which this calculator reports directly. It is the only number that lets you compare the duty burden on two different HS codes.

  • Rates are indexed by HS code in the Customs tariff and revised regularly.
  • Vehicle excise is charged per cubic centimetre rather than as a percentage.
  • Special Commodity Levy, where it applies, replaces the other import levies; enter its total from the tariff.
  • A clearing agent will confirm the correct HS code, which determines every rate.

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Frequently asked questions

Start with CIF: cost, insurance and freight. Duty, Cess and PAL use CIF. Percentage Excise adds 15% of CIF plus duty, Cess and PAL. VAT and SSCL use CIF plus 10%, those earlier levies and any duty surcharge. If the tariff charges Special Commodity Levy, that unit-rate levy replaces the other import levies.

In the 2026 Customs guide, Cess uses CIF directly. Percentage Excise adds 15% of CIF to its base, while VAT and SSCL add 10% of CIF plus the earlier levies and any surcharge. Check the tariff for unit rates, exemptions and Special Commodity Levy.

Cost, insurance, and freight: the price of the goods plus what it cost to ship and insure them to Sri Lanka. It is the value every levy is ultimately calculated from, so an error in the freight figure moves the entire duty bill. Charges incurred after the goods arrive - clearing, handling, local transport - are not part of CIF and are not taxed.

In the Sri Lanka Customs tariff, indexed by HS code. Rates differ by commodity and are revised with each budget and by gazette during the year, which is why they are inputs here rather than fixed in the tool. Your clearing agent or the Customs tariff lookup will confirm the current rates for your HS code.

A vehicle may have unit-rate Excise and other specific rules. Enter the total unit-rate Excise for the shipment if applicable, and check the current Customs tariff and gazettes before relying on this estimate.

Because the levies compound. Each one is charged on a base that already includes the ones before it, so a set of individually modest rates produces a much larger total than adding them together would suggest. The effective figure this calculator reports is total levies as a percentage of CIF, which is the number worth comparing across products.

Considerably more than the duty rate alone suggests, because several levies stack on bases that already include earlier levies. Start from the CIF value, then apply duty, PAL, cess, excise where applicable, and finally VAT and SSCL - each on its own base, which is what this calculator implements.

It depends on the HS code for the specific product, and rates change. Sri Lanka Customs publishes the tariff by classification, so the rate has to be looked up for what you are actually importing rather than assumed - and getting the classification wrong changes what you owe.