Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association vs. Jayantha Edirisinghe, Tea Commissioner (Acting) and Others – sllr 2015 volume 1 page 337

In the case between The Private Tea Factory Owners Association (now Sri Lanka Tea Factory Owners Association) and Jayantha Edirisinghe, Tea Commissioner (Acting), and others, the court addressed the authority of the Tea Commissioner under the Tea Control Act to impose a uniform “Reasonable Price Formula” on all tea factories, rather than on a factory-specific basis. It was held that such a general imposition via circulars (P12 and P13) was ultra vires, reaffirming the principle that statutory power must be exercised according to legislative intent, requiring individual circumstances of each factory to be considered. The decision relied on the interpretation of the Tea Control Act and emphasized adherence to statutory and natural justice standards. The judgment recognized that delay in cont