Mrs Bandaranaike decided in June 1963 to make the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation the sole importer and distributor of petroleum products in the country. This decision was taken owing to the lack of a satisfactory mechanism of conserving foreign exchange and ensuring an uninterrupted supply of oil. As such the CPC Act of 1963 was enacted on 22 August 1963 and CPC became the sole importer and distributor from 01 January 1964.