Speech delivered by the Chairman at the WCRD 2018

“By welcoming all the participants for the event Chairman Consumer Affairs Authority Mr. Hasitha Tillekeratne, mentioned that this Public Private Dialogue is funded by the European Union with the active participation of the International Trade Centre (ITC) and is first time of its kind organized by the CAA. 

While mentioning the services rendered by the Consumer Affairs Authority he explained the theme of World Consumer Rights Day 2018 “Making the Digital Market Fairer”  

He added that currently, in Sri Lanka 33% of the population are using the internet and Sri Lanka has relatively high mobile penetration in comparison to the regional average.                                              

Further, he highlighted that CAA Act is being amended to protect the consumers whilst safeguarding all the stakeholders involved in e-commerce. 

Consumer Affairs Authority has proposed to initiate a public private dialogue in order to understand and critically evaluate the existing regulatory framework of the Sri Lankan digital market, understand how e-commerce has been structured in the context of current trade negotiations, and to formulate recommendations in order to facilitate legislative and regulatory priorities. This will help to establish modernized consumer e-commerce law framework with due regard to the international trade context.

Finally he mentioned that workshop will bring valuable insights to promote e-commerce in Sri Lanka. “