The Supreme Court has fixed November 3 to hear a petition seeking an order that tax revenue collected on shopping bags sold by supermarkets and other commercial establishments be credited to the designated environmental conservation fund, as required under the Environmental Conservation Tax Act.
The order was issued Friday before a three-judge bench of Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, Justice Achala Wengappuli and Justice Sampath Wijeratne, while considering the petition filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice.
The petitioner argues that the law explicitly requires the levy collected on shopping bags at the consumer point to be channelled into a statutory environmental conservation fund established by the government. The current practice — under which the revenue is not being credited to that fund — is contrary to the Act, the petitioner contends.
The Centre for Environmental Justice has asked the court to direct that the relevant tax revenue be credited to the statutory fund. The petitioner told the bench that while the bag charges should remain in place, “the money should not go into private accounts” but be credited to the government’s Environmental Conservation Levy Fund, Newswire reported.
The case follows a 2020 Supreme Court order, also obtained by CEJ, that banned the free distribution of shopping bags by retailers and directed that any bag provided to a customer must carry a price based on its size — the basis for the Rs. 3 and Rs. 5 charges in use today. CEJ argues those charges are now being retained by private supermarkets and shop owners rather than remitted to the state fund.
Respondents named in the petition include Finance Minister and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, the Minister of Environment, the Central Environmental Authority and the Consumer Affairs Authority. Senior Counsel Dr. Ravindranath Dabare and Counsel Sawanthi Ponnamperuma appeared for CEJ under the instructions of Attorney-at-Law Nilmali Wickramasinghe.
The petition will be taken up for confirmation of facts on November 3. The case adds to a growing list of environmental legal actions filed this month, including a recent CEJ challenge to industry-backed amendments to the Extended Producer Responsibility regulations and the Central Environmental Authority’s pre-Vesak warning on polythene and single-use plastic enforcement.
