Introduction

The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), as the agent of the Government, oversees the promotion and regulation of foreign exchange activity in Sri Lanka, as mandated by the Foreign Exchange Act, No. 12 of 2017 (FEA).

Sri Lanka has progressively liberalized its foreign exchange regime over the decades. Sri Lanka  fully liberalized current international transactions in 1994 and started a gradual easing of restrictions on capital transactions since the early 1990s. Following the enactment of the FEA in 2017, capital transactions were further liberalized, by broadening the scope and the limits.

The foreign exchange regulatory framework evolves in tandem with Sri Lanka's economic development and the dynamic needs of the domestic foreign exchange market.