Dr. D. M. S. Dissanayake v. Hon. Mangala Samaraweera et al – CA WRT/454/19-2022

The case between Dr. D. M. S. Dissanayake (Petitioner) and Hon. Mangala Samaraweera, Hon. Mahinda Rajapaksa, Hon. Basil Rajapaksa (Ministers of Finance), among others (Respondents), addressed the issue of whether a luxury tax imposed on an imported vehicle was valid under a backdated Gazetted Regulation (No. 2118/24, “X6”) or an earlier regulation (No. 2113/11, “2V1”), and whether the Petitioner’s payment and release of the vehicle estopped any subsequent legal challenge. The court held that the luxury tax liability arose not from the impugned backdated regulation but from the pre-existing regulation in force at the time of importation, and determined that the Petitioner, having paid the tax without protest and without exhausting available alternative remedies, was estopped from challengin