The Maligakanda Magistrate’s Court imposed a Rs. 500,000 fine on a Wellawatte supermarket on Tuesday for selling rice above the government-stipulated Maximum Retail Price.
According to the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA), the MRP for one kilogram of local Nadu rice is Rs. 230. The supermarket was found selling it at Rs. 320 per kilo — Rs. 90 above the legal cap.
The CAA said the detection was made during continuous island-wide enforcement operations to curb traders inflating rice prices. It urged consumers to always check the printed MRP on essential goods and report violations through the hotline 1977.
Three further outlets were fined Rs. 100,000 each at separate magistrates’ courts on Monday and Tuesday for the same offence. The Welimada Magistrate’s Court fined a shop in Atampitiya, Badulla, after it was caught selling Keeri Samba rice at Rs. 379 per kilogram — Rs. 119 above the Rs. 260 MRP. At Kaduwela Magistrate’s Court, a shop in Navagamuwa, Ranala, was fined for selling imported Keeri Ponni rice at Rs. 375 per kilogram against the Rs. 255 MRP, an overcharge of Rs. 120. A third shop in the Kothalawala area was also fined by the same court for selling Keeri Ponni above the gazetted price.
The four cases span Colombo’s western suburbs, the Kaduwela division and the Badulla hill country, signalling that the CAA’s enforcement net is now wider than the Colombo retail strip and is reaching both branded and imported rice varieties — Nadu, Keeri Samba and Keeri Ponni. The action follows earlier crackdowns under the same drive, including a Galle case and continued Avurudu market raids on rice, gas and grocery essentials.
Sources: Newswire — Wellawatte; Newswire — three further shops.
