Jaffna passengers to pay Defense Levy

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 20 December 2000, 23:31 GMT]
Passengers to and from Jaffna will be charged Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Defense Levy when they travel by the vessel 'City of Trinco' from January next year.

According to an official announcement issued by the Shipping Agency on Wednesday, each passenger has to pay Rs.175 extra as GST tax and Defense Levy in addition to the fare of Rs 1400 per head, for a total of Rs.1575.

Before the passenger shipping service was suspended last month due to inclement weather, the fare used to be only Rs.1000 inclusive of all taxes. The new fares represent an increase of more than 50% for the citizens of Jaffna.

Meanwhile the International Committee of Red Cross said that they would not provide escort to the vessel City of Trinco to transport passengers between Jaffna and Trincomalee until the weather conditions improved.

(1 USD is approximately 78 Rs.)

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