LNP - Interim order issued against increasing liquor license fees

The Supreme Court has issued an interim injunction order preventing the implementation of a Gazette notification issued by the previous government to increase the  annual fee for liquor licenses. The three-judge bench, comprising Justices A.H.M.D. Nawaz, Kumuduni Wickramasinghe, and Priyantha Fernando, issued this order while granting leave to proceed with the fundamental rights petition filed by the Sri Lanka Liquor Licensees’ Association. The petition, which names the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance and several others as respondents, argues that increasing the annual fee to Rs. 20 million, stipulated in the 2024/1 gazette notification, causes severe injustice to license holders and constitutes a violation of their fundamental rights. The petitioners requested the court to issue a directive to relevant authorities to revert to the fee structure back to the one outlined in the 2017 Gazette notification.