Hatton National Bank PLC vs. Sakalasuriya Appuhamilage Upul Aruna Shantha et al. – SC APPEAL 125/2015-2015

In the case between Hatton National Bank PLC (Plaintiff-Appellant/Respondent) and Sakalasuriya Appuhamilage Upul Aruna Shantha Kukulnape, Senanayake Amarasinghe Mohotti Appuhamilage Sudath Denzil, and Subasinghe Dissanayake Appuhamilage Upul Hemantha Subsasinshge (Defendant-Respondents/Appellants), the court addressed whether a Finance Lease Agreement for motor vehicles used for travel was exempt from stamp duty under the relevant Gazette Notifications and statutory provisions. It was held that the interpretation of stamp duty exemptions required a thorough examination of the English and Sinhala versions of Gazette Extraordinary Nos. 1439/2 and 1465/20, with the Court emphasizing that courts, not the Deputy Commissioner, possess the authority to interpret statutory exemptions. The principl