N.O.H. Hotel (Private) Limited vs. The Galle Municipal Council and others – CA PHC 14/2021-2023

In the case between N.O.H. Hotel (Private) Limited (Petitioner-Appellant) and the Galle Municipal Council and others (Respondents), the court addressed the legality of imposing a 1% trade license fee on a boutique hotel registered under the Tourism Act No. 38 of 2005 rather than under the repealed Tourism Development Act No. 14 of 1968. The court held that the 1% fee could only be levied on hotels registered under the Tourism Development Act No. 14 of 1968 and not on those registered under the Tourism Act No. 38 of 2005, reaffirming the principle that fiscal statutes must be strictly interpreted. The analysis relied on the interpretation of the Municipal Council Ordinance, the relevant Tourism Acts, and related Finance Acts, emphasizing that taxing provisions cannot be extended by implicat