The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has sealed a factory in the Homagama Industrial Zone for allegedly manufacturing and distributing 6mm steel bars without the mandatory Sri Lanka Standards (SLS) 375 certification, the regulator said on Sunday.
According to the CAA, the raid was conducted on May 9 following a tip-off, and the factory had been operating at the location for nearly three years, producing ribbed steel bars used in reinforced concrete construction alongside its other products before releasing them to the market without the required certification mark.
Officials said the steel bars did not comply with SLS 375, the mandatory standard that specifies requirements for ribbed steel bars used in construction. The company had failed to obtain the SLS certification and distributed the products without the mandatory mark, posing what the authority described as a serious risk to construction safety and consumers.
The factory has been sealed and further investigations are under way. The CAA said strict legal action will be taken against the company for manufacturing and distributing substandard steel bars without certification.
The authority also urged consumers and builders to verify that steel bars purchased for construction carry the mandatory SLS 375 mark, warning that substandard building materials could pose a major threat to lives and property.
The action adds to a series of CAA enforcement raids carried out across the country in recent weeks targeting consumer-protection violations, from overpriced rice to bottled water sold above MRP.
Source: Newswire.
