The Environmental Conservation Levy Bill, which provides for the government to charge an Environmental Conservation Levy, was passed in Parliament yesterday without a debate. The new Bill also proposes the setting up of a National Adaptation Fund, in keeping with a proposal made at the UN Global Climate Change Summit, held in Bali last December -- which called upon countries to adopt mechanisms to face the challenges of global warming The levy will be imposed on households, identified items imported into or manufactured in Sri Lanka or specified services provided in Sri Lanka, which are likely to have a harmful impact on the environment According to the Bill, the Environmental Conservation Levy would vary between Rs 1000 and Rs 5000 for a household and between Rs 5000 and Rs 10,000 for an importer, local manufacturer or service provider. A penalty will be charged in the event of failure on the part of any person to pay the levy. In the case of a household, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) will charge the levy through the telephone bill relevant to the household; while the Director General of Customs, in accordance with the Customs Ordinance, will levy it from importers for each imported item. The Director General of Customs will also collect the levy from domestic manufacturers and service providers, in accordance with the provisions of the Excise (Special Provisions) Act No. 13 of 1989. Excepting where the levy is collected from more than one member of a household, it shall be the duty of such household to inform the relevant telecom service provider, within 30 days, to make the necessary adjustments. The levy will be remitted to Environmental Consolidated Fund after it is collected by the TRC, from households or by the Customs Department, from manufacturers and importers. A household is defined in the Bill as a building or structure used as a place of residence, with electricity connection, telephone and one member who owns a motor vehicle. Two wheeled vehicles will not be considered as motor vehicles. The House passed the Bill without debate because of the chaos that arose due to protests staged by the UNP throughout yesterday. Some amendments were made prior to its passage.