The MV X-Press Pearl ship that caught fire in Sri Lankan waters sank in June 2021.

During a discussion with the President, State Minister Siyambalapitiya pointed out that if metal is removed from the ship within the territorial waters of this country, an import and export license must also be obtained for that.

There are about 48,000 metric tons of metal in the ship, and the minister said that Sri Lanka will get a significant amount of tax from this. He clearly mentioned that anything within Sri Lanka's territorial waters should be dealt with according to the existing laws in the country.

"As a result, the metal on the ship would be classified as scrap metal. If any party wants to take the metal away, they should obtain an import and export license, and in addition to that, they have to pay the customs taxes," the state minister said.

According to the Customs Ordinance, 10% of the value of these irons should be levied as cess, he said. (Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)