Legal experts have pointed out that the condition imposed by Sathosa that five more items should be purchased when purchasing rice and sugar is illegal.
President’s Counsel U. R. de Silva, Adviser to the Ministry of Justice, says that there is no possibility of imposing conditions on consumers who come to purchase goods.
According to the Consumer Protection Act, if a seller has the stock of goods in the relevant trading shop, he should supply the goods to the customer according to the customer’s requirement, he said.
If such an opportunity arises, there is an opportunity for customers to complain to the Consumer Affairs Authority, he said.
He also said that the Consumer Affairs Authority could immediately go to the scene and arrest the suspects or issue a stern warning to them not to act in such a manner.
Commenting on the imposition of the condition, Trade Minister Bandula Gunawardena said that steps had been taken to prevent private traders from buying large quantities of rice and sugar from Sathosa at low prices and giving them to the public at a higher price, so as to enable the real consumer to obtain these products at cheaper prices.
