‘Dockyardgate’ Finally Comes To End

‘Dockyardgate’ finally comes to an end: Colombo Dockyard concedes liability and pays all levies with 10 million penalty

November 21, 2015 

The Colombo Telegraph can now reveal that the Colombo Dockyard case, one of the major Customs revenue frauds that severely tested the integrity and commitment to honour the rule of law regarding Customs, the Attorney General’s Department and the Judiciary, has finally come to an end.

Mohan Pieris

It was made possible purely due to the persistent efforts for justice by the lawyer and pubic interest litigation activist Nagananda Kodituwakku. This was a long overdue Customs case (P/Misc/93/2000) initiated on 07th Feb 2002 against the Colombo Dockyard Ltd, which customs had been forced to abandon due to undue interference of unimaginable scale.

When this customs case was reinstated on 07th Aug 2015 the Colombo Dockyard admitted the guilt of willful violation of the Customs Law by selling marine craft manufactured with tax-free raw materials without the prior approval of Customs and pleaded for mitigation.

Then the Colombo Dockyard Ltd was ordered to pay all Customs levies for the marine craft sold with an additional penalty of ten million rupees. The company promptly paid all levies and the penalty in full.

In 2010, when the lawyer Nagananda Kodituwakku challenged the undue interference of Mohan Pieris in this case (SCFR/536/2010) before the Supreme Court in 2010 case, it came to light that the Director General of Customs (DGC) had given clear instructions (letter dated 03rd Aug 2010) to AG Mohan Pieris that it was case of fraud amounting to colossal loss of revenue and therefore it should be defended in Court. However the Attorney General, Mohan Pieris, had abused the office of the AG to withdraw the case (SC/SLA/100/2009) on 30th Aug 2010 despite DGC’s written instructions.

It was also brought to light that the Mohan Pieris had further deceived the DGC with a letter delivered by handon 31st Aug 2010, in which the date had been surreptitiously recorded as 26th Aug 2010. It was very clear that the letter had been initiated on 31st Aug 2010 only after the withdrawal of the case under his instructions. Apparently it was a failed attempt by Mohan Pieris to give the  impression that the said case was withdrawn with the consent of the DGC.

However, this fraudulent act by Mohan Pieris was exposed by the DGC in the written observations presented to the Supreme Court wherein the Court had been informed that the letter had been delivered only after the case was withdrawn.

However, due to various delaying tactics adopted by the AG, the lawyer Kodituwakku was never allowed to support the case filed in the Supreme Court, until Mohan Peiris was appointed to the office of the Chief Justice.

Then on 31st Jan 2013 the case was taken up for support before the accused Mohan Pieris himself whilst he was the Chief Justice. However, after objections were raised against the case being heard before him it was put off for the following day (01 Feb 2013) to be heard by a Bench, headed by S Hettige, a strong confidant of Mohan Peiris.                                                                         Read More