Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association vs Sri Lanka Tea Board and others – CA WRT/0415/21-2025

In the matter of the Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association and the Tea Board, the court addressed the issue of the legality and reasonableness of Tea Board Circular No. TC/CIR(204)–06(6)2021 (P-3), which prescribed a formula for determining the reasonable price of green tea leaves. The court held that the circular’s pricing formula was factory-specific and compliant with Section 8(2)(b) of the Tea Control Act and a prior Supreme Court ruling. The claims that the circular was unreasonable or arbitrary, and that the 68:32 price sharing ratio was unsupported, were dismissed. This decision reaffirmed the principle that a factory-specific reasonable price is mandated and emphasized that re-agitating previously settled issues constitutes an abuse of the judicial process.

K. M. G. H. KULATU