The Supreme Court has issued an interim injunction preventing the enforcement of a Gazette notification issued by the previous government to increase the annual fee for liquor licenses.

The three-judge bench, comprising Justices A.H.M.D. Nawaz, Kumuduni Wickramasinghe, and Priyantha Fernando, made the ruling while granting leave to proceed with a fundamental rights petition filed by the Sri Lanka Liquor Licensees’ Association.

The petition challenges the 2024/1 Gazette notification, which raised the annual fee to Rs. 20 million, arguing that it imposes severe injustice on license holders and violates their fundamental rights.

The petitioners have requested the court to direct authorities to revert to the fee structure outlined in the 2017 Gazette notification.