Sri Lanka, July 7 -- Sri Lankan consumers and businesses making purchases from overseas online services could face further delays unless the government updates the country's outdated e-commerce tax rules, the Advocata Institute has warned.

Thousands of parcels ordered by Sri Lankans from popular online shopping sites like TEMU, AliExpress, and eBay are currently stuck at Sri Lanka Customs.

Issuing a media release, The Advocata Institute, an independent policy think tank based in Colombo, Sri Lanka, said a lack of clear rules on how to handle these parcels is causing long delays, affecting small businesses and frustrating customers across the country.

"Until June, parcels were cleared using a simple system where agents paid a fee based...