W.R. Kulatunga Bandara vs W. Balasuriya – CA PHC APN-97/2010-2013

In the case between W.R. Kulatunga Bandara, Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Kandy South District Labour Office, Kandy South (Applicant/State) and W. Balasuriya, Sports of Kings, Cross Street, Kandy (Respondent), the court addressed whether an employer operating a business of betting on horse racing, alleged to be unlawful, remains legally obligated to pay Employee’s Provident Fund (EPF) contributions for employees under Section 38(2) of the Employee’s Provident Fund Act. It was held that statutory EPF liability applies regardless of business legality unless specifically excluded by regulation, reaffirming that liability to make EPF contributions flows from the statute and is owed to the State as a matter of social welfare legislation. This decision relied on the authority of Mudalige Gro