LNP – AliExpress halts low-cost shipping to Sri Lanka amid tax reforms

AliExpress has officially suspended several of its budget shipping options to Sri Lanka and Pakistan following the implementation of revised customs tax regulations by the respective authorities.

In a notice issued to sellers, AliExpress announced that, starting July 7, 2025, logistics routes to both Pakistan and Sri Lanka will be processed offline, and sellers will no longer be able to select the previously available low-cost shipping methods when processing orders or declaring shipments to these countries.

The move follows tax reform initiatives introduced by the governments of Sri Lanka and Pakistan, aimed at tightening regulations around the importation of goods via small parcels.

In response to public concern, Deputy Minister of Industries and Entrepreneurship Chathuranga Abeysinghe addressed the issue via a statement on Facebook, providing clarification on Sri Lanka’s updated import duty structure.

He stated that the previous single-item parcel customs duty system, which had posed a significant threat to local industries, has now been revised.

Under the previous system, any imported item in a 1 kg parcel could be cleared by paying a flat duty of Rs. 800, and in some cases, if the parcel’s value was below a certain threshold, no duty was charged at all.

However, with the new reforms, duties will now be calculated based on the item’s HS (Harmonized System) code rather than the weight of the parcel.