Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court has ordered President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Finance Ministry Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma to present evidence in the high-profile case concerning the alleged Rs. 15.9 billion loss to the government caused by the controversial sugar tax reduction during former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s administration.
The order was issued on Wednesday (30) by a three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, along with Justices Mahinda Samayawardhana and Kumuduni Wickramasinghe. The ruling follows arguments presented in a fundamental rights petition filed by Minister Sunil Handunnetti, who alleged that the 2020 decision to drastically cut import taxes on sugar led to massive financial losses for the state.
According to the petition, the tax on imported sugar was reduced from Rs. 50 per kilogram to just 25 cents through a gazette notification issued in 2020. The move, intended to support local sugar production, allegedly allowed certain private companies to profit excessively, depriving the Treasury of billions in potential revenue.
The petitioner claimed that Pyramid Wilmar Private Limited, one of the main sugar importers, received undue profits during the period of reduced taxation, resulting in a direct loss of Rs. 15.95 billion to the government. The petition further stated that this profit should have been credited to the Consolidated Fund for the benefit of the public.
Minister Handunnetti also requested the Court to declare that fundamental rights had been violated by failing to recover the financial gains from importers and asked that Rs. 500 million in compensation be recovered from the respondents, including Pyramid Wilmar and other officials linked to the case.
Appearing on behalf of the petitioner, President’s Counsel M. A. Sumanthiran requested the Court to allow an amendment to include the current Finance Minister and Secretary as respondents, as the previous officeholders had changed.
Senior Government Counsel Hasini Opatha, representing the Attorney General, countered that there was no basis for the petition, citing that a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe had found no evidence of fraud.
After considering all submissions, the Supreme Court allowed the amendment and ordered President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and Finance Secretary Harshana Suriyapperuma to submit their evidence by January 19, 2026.
