Vehicles Lanka (Private) Limited and other vs S. P. Arukgoda and others – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO: 644/2021-2024

In the case between Vehicles Lanka (Private) Limited (and its Chairman/Managing Director) and officials of Sri Lanka Customs (including the Deputy Director of Customs/Inquiry Officer and the Director General of Customs), the court addressed the legality and validity of the Customs Authority’s decision to forfeit goods imported under licences allegedly obtained by misrepresentation. The court held that a licence acquired by misrepresentation is not automatically void but remains operative until cancelled through established legal procedures, reaffirming the principle that administrative decisions must adhere to due process. Reliance was placed on precedents such as East India Commercial Co. Ltd. vs. Collector of Customs, with emphasis on the legal status of licences obtained by fraud or mis