A popular restaurant in Batticaloa has been fined Rs. 500,000 by the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court for selling a 500ml bottle of drinking water above its marked retail price, the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) said.
According to the CAA, the restaurant sold a bottle with a maximum retail price of Rs. 70 for Rs. 100 — a Rs. 30 overcharge. The violation was detected during a raid by officials of the Batticaloa District Consumer Affairs Authority. The CAA filed action before the Batticaloa Magistrate’s Court, where the company pleaded guilty to the offence and the court imposed the fine.
The Rs. 500,000 penalty is among the largest individual fines disclosed by the CAA in recent months for a single MRP violation, and follows a pattern of escalating prosecutions of traders across the country found selling rice, gas, food and now bottled water above stipulated price ceilings. Earlier in the year, Galle traders were also fined for selling rice over MRP after CAA Magistrate’s Court action.
The Authority urged the public to report traders selling goods above the stipulated MRP through its hotline 1977 during office hours.
The CAA has run a sustained enforcement campaign against retail price gouging, with special raids extended through the Avurudu festive season and follow-up prosecutions continuing into May. The Batticaloa case marks one of the first disclosed convictions arising from raids in the Eastern Province during the current cycle.
