The government approved a proposal to introduce an Electronic Licensing (E-Licensing) system to the Import and Export Control Department. The President, in his role as Finance Minister, presented the plan.
The Department of Import and Export Control currently issues around 17,000 licenses a year, a process that is mainly manual and has limited technological involvement. The decision was made to reduce human intervention and make the process more efficient by utilizing modern information technology.
The E-Licensing will increase the efficiency and transparency of the system by allowing the participation of regulatory organizations such as Sri Lanka Customs, the Excise Department, the Department of Motor Traffic, the Sri Lanka Board of Investment, the National Medicines Regulatory Authority, and the Sri Lanka Standards Institution.
The Export Control and Border Security Program under the United States Embassy has agreed to contribute the STRATLINK program worth US$280,000, along with the source code, to the Department of Import and Export Control.
