Duty Free Sri Lanka: Luxury Beyond Borders

Duty-free shops are retail outlets that do not apply local or national taxes and duties, in most instances. In the first place, whenever someone travels to Sri Lanka by air, the first thing on the bucket list is What can I buy from Duty Free Sri Lanka? Although one can buy only in limited quantities, Duty-free shopping in Sri Lanka has many benefits by reduced prices. Incidentally, this is a great deal for passengers arriving in Sri Lanka as they can shop for their favourite goodies: 365, 24×7 at the airport before clearing off their baggage.

Guide to Duty Free Sri Lanka: Departures

There are two separate Duty-free shops in Sri Lanka. One for the departure lounge and one for the transit or arrival. Particularly, if you are a local, or a foreigner leaving Sri Lanka, after their holiday, the duty-free departure lounge has some super offers to note. The main advantage is the duty-free prices are very much less than the local market price. In this area, travelers can buy products ranging from alcoholic beverages, fashion, food, and more.

When buying at departure duty free know your duty free limits!

In addition, if you wish, you can give the perfect gift with a bottle of liquor of great international prestige, since the store has a great variety of local and international alcoholic beverages. However, when buying duty-free you must be aware of the duty-free limit of the country you wish to travel from Sri Lanka. Also, most Islamic countries do not allow passengers to carry alcohol. The best option here is to ask before purchasing.

In particular, more often than not, there are instances where the plane crews have asked to keep aside liquid items from the hand luggage before boarding. For one thing, in such a scenario, the money you spent on that tempting bottle of wine would go to waste. Yes! You can buy a classy tee shirt from Odel along with some cashew nuts or chocolate if you wish. However, if you are on transit or you have oodles of time for your flight, duty-free window shopping is sure to way to kill some time.

Pre-departure shopping at the airport

Especially, if you are a foreigner, the departure lounge has many shops selling Sri Lankan handicrafts although, these are hugely overpriced for locals at the airport. Having said that, this is a peaceful heaven to buy presents and souvenirs. You can also find shops selling the best quality Ceylon tea, cinnamon, and cashew.

Kapruka tip: Some of the Sri Lankan souvenirs at the departure lounge are really overpriced. Suggest you shop for your Sri Lankan souvenirs at Lakpahana as the prices there are reasonable and controlled.

Guide to Duty-free: Transit | Arrivals

Once customs stamp your visa at the immigration passport counter, you have a choice of shopping for duty-free items within your duty-free allocation. The duty-free area is easy to find, as this will be the area you will walk into after immigration formalities are fulfilled. Of course, the duty-free shops at the transit/arrival lounge of the Bandaranaike International Airport have an extensive range of well-known brands of liquor, hi-fi equipment, watches, cameras, perfumes, cosmetics electrical appliances, and more. Of course, for most, their favourite buys are purchasing liquor brands and electronics.

As far as promotions go, at the Sri Lanka duty-free, they have quite a few. To avail duty-free promotions, you could browse the Sri Lanka duty-free website.

Meanwhile, the best news is you can shop online at the Sri Lanka duty-free beforehand, and pick it up at the designated counter when you arrive in Sri Lanka. All in all, in most instances, duty-free promotions apply to liquor, confectionery, and beauty (perfumes) products at the Sri Lanka duty-free.

Shopping for Electronics

Some duty-free shops selling electronics products allow you to select and reserve products online. Most often, the items booked via their website will be ready for collection upon your arrival at the airport. Under those circumstances, it’s ideal if one makes their reservation 7 days before their arrival to Sri Lanka. (Sri Lankan Passport Holders Only). For example, popular electronics duty-free shops include, Abans, Singer, Singhagiri, and Softlogic. Consequently, pricing varies by shop, but shoppers shouldn’t expect deep, deep discounts.

If you browse the following duty-free catalogues from Abans and Singer, you can easily find the respective USD price and local market price.

Abans: https://buyabans.com/dutyfree/shop, | Shop No 6A and No 11A, Pre-arrival customs area. Tel: 94 -112 263 300 | Email: ab_dfree@abansgroup.com | Opening Hours: 24 hours

Singer: https://www.singersl.com/duty-free-products | Shop No 10A, Pre-arrival customs area. Tel: 94-112 263 342 | Email: dutyfree@singersl.com | Opening Hours: 24 hours

Singer: Shop No 04-D, Departure Transit Area. Tel :94-11-2 265 015 | Email: df-dutyfree@singersl.com | Opening Hours: 24 hours

Softlogic: https://mysoftlogic.lk/duty-free | Shop No 12-A, Pre-arrival customs area. Tel: 94-112 263 352 | Email: nipunika@softlogic.lk | Opening Hours: 24 hours

Duty-free allowance (residents – Sri Lankan passport holders)

Sri lankan residents are entitled to an annual allowance according to their stay abroad. Items allowed under these allowances normally include personal clothing and electrical/ electronic household equipment. Duty-free allowances do not apply for restricted and prohibited items. Additionally, 2 ½ lit. of liquor and 2 lit. of wine are allowed with duty-free prices.

Stay abroad | Value of items brought from abroad

Less than 90 days – USD 125

Between 90 to 365 days – USD 500

More than 365 days – USD 1000

Stay abroad | Value of items purchased at Duty-free shops in Sri Lanka

Less than 90 days – USD 125

Between 90 to 365 days – USD 625

More than 365 days – USD 1750

Duty-free allowance (non-residents, meaning overseas passport holders)

Visitors to Sri Lanka over 18 years of age are normally allowed an exemption from Customs duties for the following items.

These are for personal belongings such as clothing, cosmetics, and gifts up to a value of USD 250/-.

• Additionally, 1 1/2 lit. of liquor and 2 bottles of wine are allowed duty-free.

• A small quantity of perfume and 250ml of eau de toilette.

There is no duty-free allowance for tobacco products. You must declare valuable items such as cameras and laptops on arrival and must take these out of the country again when you leave.

General duty free allowance for Sri Lankan expatriate workers

For expatriate workers who remit money through the official banking system, additional allowances are available based on the total remitted amount within a year:

Silver Category (USD 2,400 – 4,799): Up to USD 2,350

Gold Category (USD 7,200 – 11,999): Up to USD 3,190

Gold Plus Category (USD 12,000 – 23,999): Up to USD 4,150

Top Tier (USD 24,000+): Up to USD 6,550

These benefits aim to encourage legal remittances through banking channels, providing significant savings for expatriates returning home. To find details of Duty-free shops please click here. Also, you can click the link: https://www.airport.lk/shop_dine_&_relax/shop/shopping

Benefits of shopping duty-free

For one, the prices are really cheap if you are a Sri Lankan. You cannot simply buy most products sold at the duty-free cheaply outside. In particular, imported liquor and electronics are comparatively more costly in the outside market as they include all taxes and duties. For instance, buying a significant electronics item like a fridge, oven, or a large LED TV from duty-free makes sense.

Depending on the local tax structure, though, the savings can be significant for certain items – up to 20% or even 30%, in products with high tax rates. Further, savings are especially noticeable on ‘vice’ goods such as alcohol and cigarettes, since those items tend to be taxed at higher rates. Incidentally, cosmetics, and clothing, may actually be more expensive at duty-free shops than at local shops.

Shopping for alcohol, liquor and wine at duty free Sri Lanka

Shopping for alcohol, liquor, and wine at duty-free Sri Lanka is an exciting experience with a diverse range of options. Expect to find local favorites like Sri Lankan Arrack and rum. Also, you can find popular international brands such as Johnnie Walker, Chivas Regal, and Ballentine. Further, duty-free Sri Lanka offers a variety of wines from around the world. Keep an eye out for special promotions and bundled offers for the best deals. To browse duty-free alcohol, liquor and, wine prices click here. Also, you can click the link: https://srilanka.shopdutyfree.com/en/128/liquor

Sri Lanka duty free best sellers – Liquor

If you’re looking to buy liquor, especially whiskey, Sri Lanka’s duty-free shops offer an exceptional selection of premium beverages. You’ll find popular options like French cognac, including Hennessy, at attractive prices. American whiskeys such as Jack Daniel’s and Jim Beam are also readily available. Additionally, the range of distilled beverages features unbeatable prices on renowned brands like Smirnoff Vodka for your favorite cocktails, the exclusive Havana Club and Bacardi Rum, and classic gins like Beefeater and Gordon’s.

Conclusion

Particularly, in 2024 thousands of tourists and Sri Lankans living or working overseas have begun to travel to Sri Lanka. Hence, many search for “Duty-Free Sri Lanka” online. In 2024, Sri Lanka is on track to meet an ambitious target of attracting 2.3 million tourists. This makes a significant growth from the 1,487,303 tourists it welcomed in 2023. By June 2024, Sri Lanka had already received 1,010,249 tourists, indicating a strong upward trend in tourism. In this respect, Sri Lanka tourism authorities intend to attract 3 million international travelers in 2023. This is a positive sign for the country, as tourism was once a highly lucrative industry in Sri Lanka.

Whatever the outcome, be it a Sri Lankan visitor or an overseas tourist, Duty Free Sri Lanka has some attractive duty-free offers to avail. To this effect, alcoholic beverages, wine, and confectionery top the list as the most popular items for duty-free shopping. Having said that consumer electronics demand is on the ascendance and Sri Lankans working overseas in greater numbers travel to Sri Lanka for their vacations. Because of this reason, Duty Free Sri Lanka is a hot topic as it has become a key touch point to access the most sought-after products under one roof.