The Motor Traffic Department will from January next year, have a new category for cars with a higher engine capacity of 800cc to 2200cc.

The decision comes in the wake of new regulations and guidelines that have been set up for such cars, especially racing cars which mainly fall under this category.

The import of racing cars other than Go-carts will be liable for a payment of 200% to 350% of their CIF value as taxes including Excise (Special Provisions) Duty depending on the cylinder capacity of the imported racing car.

The 2013 Budget proposed that Go-carts and specially designed racing cars be exempted from Excise Duty to attract international sporting events and participants to those events to increase revenue from such events to US$500 million by 2016 from the present US$50 million.