Supreme Court to Hear Petition on Shopping Bag Tax Funds on November 3

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Supreme Court has fixed a date to hear a petition seeking an order that tax revenue collected from the sale of shopping bags by supermarkets and other commercial establishments be credited to a designated government environmental conservation fund.

Accordingly, the petition will be taken up for confirmation of facts on November 3.

The order was issued today before a three-judge bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, along with Justices Achala Wengappuli and Sampath Wijeratne, while considering a petition filed by the Centre for Environmental Justice.

The petitioner organization stated that, under the Environmental Conservation Tax Act, taxes collected from consumers on shopping bags sold by supermarkets and similar commercial entities should be credited to a specific environmental conservation fund established by the government.

However, the petitioners pointed out that this is not currently being implemented, and argued that such a situation is contrary to the law.

Accordingly, the petitioners have requested the Supreme Court to issue an order directing that the relevant tax revenue be credited to the environmental conservation fund established by the government.