The Colombo No. 5 Magistrate’s Court has imposed a fine of Rs. 500,000 on a retail trader operating on Old Moor Street, Colombo 12, for selling Keeri Samba rice above the maximum retail price stipulated by the Consumer Affairs Authority, Newswire reported.
The accused pleaded guilty to violating the controlled price of locally produced Keeri Samba rice at Wednesday’s hearing.
According to the CAA, the trader had sold Keeri Samba at Rs. 340 per kilogram, despite the maximum retail price being fixed at Rs. 260 per kilogram — an Rs. 80 per kilo markup. The offence was detected during an inspection conducted by consumer protection officials.
The Rs. 500,000 fine is one of the heaviest CAA-driven penalties imposed on a Colombo-area rice retailer this year and continues a sustained enforcement push on Keeri Samba pricing. The CAA had previously secured similar convictions including a Rs. 360-per-kilo raid at a Bokundara retailer and a Rs. 100,000 fine on an Akkaraipattu shop. The Old Moor Street case is the highest single-store fine to date and signals that the CAA is escalating sanctions on repeat-pattern overpricing rather than treating each detection as a first offence.
