Lu Fortune Investment (Private) Limited vs Major General (Retired) Vijitha Ravipriya and others – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO. 26/2021-2021

In the case between Lu Fortune Investment (Private) Limited and Lu Zengshan (Petitioners) and Major General (Retired) Vijitha Ravipriya (Director General of Customs) and others (Respondents), the court addressed whether Sri Lanka Customs may investigate, forfeit, and impose penalties for intentional undervaluation of goods under Section 52 of the Customs Ordinance even after goods are released and valuation amended with additional duty paid. It was held that forfeiture and penalties under Section 52 remain permissible upon proof of intentional undervaluation, distinguishing such conduct from genuine error or inadvertence, and that amendments or payment of short-levied duty do not preclude subsequent action for fraud. The decision reaffirmed the principle that deliberate false declarations