Amnesty period for exchanging foreign currency
The government has decided to announce an amnesty period for individuals to change their US dollars or any other acceptable foreign currency to rupees through a commercial bank.
Speaking during the weekly Cabinet media briefing in Colombo today, Cabinet Spokesman Minister Bandula Gunawardena said the circular in this regard will be issued by the Ministry of Finance in the next couple of days.
The Minister said accordingly, citizens will be able to change any acceptable foreign currency to rupees through a commercial bank.
Meanwhile, Co-Cabinet Spokesman Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said any amount of foreign currency even exceeding USD 10,000 can be changed or deposited to an account during the period.
The Minister said during the period individuals will not be requested to submit any documentation to banks to prove the source of the funds.
He said the amnesty period will last for one month although the programme was implemented last month as well.
Minister Manusha Nanayakkara said accordingly citizens can use the amnesty period to deposit their foreign currency into the banking system.