A writ petition filed by W.M.Mendis & Co.Limited, challenging the legality of a letter issued by the Excise Department insisting on the suspension of its licence if arrears are not paid by the 30th of last month, was yesterday dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
The two-judge bench of the Court of Appeal, comprising Justices Sobhitha Rajakaruna and Mahen Gopallawa, decided to dismiss the petition, citing that there is no prima facie case to proceed with the application.
President’s Counsel Navin Marapana, appearing for the petitioner informed Court that the Excise Department had arbitrarily issued the letter, warning of the licence suspension if the arrears are not paid by the specified deadline.
Deputy Solicitor General Awanthi Perera, appearing for the Attorney General, informed court that the Government has taken a policy decision to cancel the licences of liquor manufacturing companies that default on tax payments. She further stated that this policy would apply to all companies defaulting on tax payments.
Three Directors of W.M.Mendis and Company, Arjun Aloysius, Dinendra John and Prasanna Kumarasiri de Silva were recently sentenced to a six-month jail term by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court for defaulting on the payment of Value Added Tax (VAT) amounting to Rs. 3.5 billion.
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