The Matara Magistrate’s Court has imposed a total fine of Rs. 1 million on two tourist hotels in the district for selling bottled drinking water well above the government-regulated Maximum Retail Price. Each hotel was fined Rs. 500,000 on Wednesday, May 13, the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) said.
The hotels were detected following raids conducted by the CAA’s Matara District Office, acting on consumer complaints. The complaints alleged that the hotels were charging Rs. 450 for a one-litre bottle of water priced at Rs. 100, and Rs. 300 for a 500ml bottle priced at Rs. 70 — more than four times the stipulated MRP in each case.
The CAA urged consumers to check the printed MRP and expiry date before purchase, demand receipts for transactions, and refuse to pay above the gazetted price. Violations can be reported with proof to the CAA hotline 1977.
The case is the highest single-day water overpricing penalty handed down in Matara this year and follows a Rs. 100,000 fine on a Matara supermarket for the same offence at the end of April. A Haputale restaurant was fined Rs. 1 million in April during the Avurudu enforcement push, and a Batticaloa hotel was hit with a Rs. 500,000 fine on May 9. The CAA has run multi-district raids on rice and water overpricing since the start of the high-tariff season.
Sources: Newswire, Ada Derana.
