State Minister of Co-operative Services, Marketing Development and Consumer Protection, Lasantha Alagiyawanna said the amendments to the Consumer Affairs Authority(CAA) Act will be tabled in Parliament tomorrow (September 6).
These amendments are expected to allow action to be taken against individuals and companies who deliberately increase the prices of essential items and sell goods above the controlled prices.
As per the provisions of the CAA Act, the fines are categorised as individual businesses and companies.
The maximum fine charged from an individual business for a first-time offence has been increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 500,000.
Individual businesses will be fined a maximum of Rs. 1 million for a subsequent offence. This amount previously stood at Rs. 20,000. The maximum fine for a company for a first-time offence has been enhanced from Rs. 100,000 to Rs. 5 million. The maximum fine imposed on companies for a subsequent offence has been increased from Rs. 200,000 to Rs. 10 million.