Magistrate’s courts in two districts imposed fines totalling Rs. 1.5 million on Wednesday against venues in Sri Lanka’s tourist belt that sold bottled drinking water above the legal maximum retail price. Both defendants pleaded guilty.
Dambulla — Rs. 500,000
A tourist hotel on Ratmalgaha Ela Road, near Vihara Junction, Dambulla, was fined Rs. 500,000 for selling a bottle of water marked at Rs. 100 for Rs. 300, the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) said.
The case followed a raid by investigating officers of the CAA’s Matale District Office on 2 January 2025. The hotel pleaded guilty when the case was taken up on 23 September 2026, and the court imposed the fine, the Daily Mirror reported.
Ella — Rs. 1 million
Separately, the Bandarawela Magistrate’s Court ordered a well-known restaurant on Railway Station Road, Ella, to pay Rs. 1 million after it sold a one-litre bottle of water for Rs. 200, Hiru News reported. The maximum retail price in force at the time of the raid was Rs. 100, set by Order No. 93 of Extraordinary Gazette No. 2430/15 of 1 April 2025. The defendant company pleaded guilty.
The current price is not Rs. 100
The CAA stressed that the Rs. 100 figure in the Dambulla case was the ceiling applicable at the time of that raid and is not the price in force today.
Under Order No. 96 of Extraordinary Gazette No. 2492/29 dated 10 June 2026, the maximum retail price for a locally packaged bottle of between one litre and 1.499 litres is Rs. 120.
The Authority advised consumers to check the marked price before buying bottled water at hotels, resorts, restaurants and shops, and to obtain a bill. Traders were warned not to sell above the stipulated ceiling. Market irregularities can be reported to the CAA on 1977 during office hours.
