Import rules · updated 29 September 2026
Importing Brazilian sugar into Sri Lanka: duty, permits and documents.
Sri Lanka took 178,605 tonnes of Brazil’s white sugar in 2025, and it is one of the simplest markets to import into. White sugar pays a flat Special Commodity Levy of Rs 50 per kg, valid to 31 December 2026, and while the levy applies it replaces customs duty, VAT and the other import taxes. No import licence is needed for refined sugar (HS 1701.99.10); it goes through compulsory inspection against SLS 191 and Food Act approval. Labels must be in English, Sinhala and Tamil.
Brazil’s sugar trade with Sri Lanka
Brazil exported 178,605 tonnes of white sugar (NCM 1701.99) to Sri Lanka in 2025, worth 73.6 million US dollars FOB.
Importing into Sri Lanka? Send your grade, quantity and discharge port. You pay the supplier directly, never me.
Send a requirement →The levy, and what it replaces
Sri Lanka Customs’ levy chart (dated 5 May 2026) sets the Special Commodity Levy at Rs 50 per kg on every HS 1701.99 line, valid until 31 December 2026. While the levy is in force, customs duty, VAT, the port and airport levy, CESS and the other import charges are not collected on the same goods.
Line 1701.99.10 covers cane sugar with polarisation of 99.70 or more and colour of 60 ICUMSA or less, which is where ICUMSA 45 falls.
Inspection, approval and labels
- 1701.99.10 is marked for compulsory inspection by the Sri Lanka Standards Institution against SLS 191, white sugar, with no import control licence. Line 1701.99.90 needs a licence as well.
- Sugar also needs approval from a Food and Drug Inspector under the Food Act 1980.
- Labels must give the common name in English, Sinhala and Tamil (Food Labelling and Advertising Regulations 2022, applied from 1 January 2024).
What to confirm before you order
- The levy rate beyond 31 December 2026, which is set by gazette.
- That your specification sits in 1701.99.10.
Rules on this page were checked against the sources below on 29 September 2026. Duties, levies and permits change, sometimes by decree. Confirm every figure with Sri Lanka’s customs authority before you order. See all countries.
Know your permits and your port? That is everything I need to request a current supplier response.
Send a requirement →Sources
- ComexStat (MDIC), Brazilian exports by NCM 1701.99.00 and 1701.14.00, January–December 2025, via api-comexstat.mdic.gov.br, retrieved 29 Sep 2026
- Sri Lanka Customs, Complete Special Commodity Levy chart, 5 May 2026: https://www.customs.gov.lk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Complete%20SCL%20Chart%2005.05.2026.pdf
- Sri Lanka Customs, National Imports Tariff Guide 2026, preamble: https://www.customs.gov.lk/wp-content/uploads/current_Tariff/Preamble%20intergrated.pdf; Chapter 17: https://www.customs.gov.lk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Tariff%202022%20Section%20IV%20Final_Chap_17.pdf
- Cabinet Office of Sri Lanka, decision of 26 Jan 2026 on Gazette Extraordinary 2469/12
- USDA FAS GAIN CE2024-0001, labelling regulations: https://apps.fas.usda.gov/
Checked on 29 September 2026. Rules and web pages change; check the source before you rely on a detail.