The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) has said it will take strict legal action against the manufacture, import, distribution, storage, display or sale of motorcycle helmets that do not carry the Sri Lanka Standards certification mark.

In a statement, the authority said a special enforcement operation on Monday (27) produced 98 raids across the country, during which 431 helmets without the SLS 517 Product Certification Mark were seized. Two factories were also barred from selling 3,520 helmets manufactured during periods when their SLS licences had not been renewed.

Certification has been mandatory for a decade. Under Direction No. 59 of Extraordinary Gazette No. 1923/65 dated July 16, 2015, every motorcycle safety helmet manufactured in or imported into Sri Lanka must bear the SLS 517 mark, and dealing in helmets without it is an offence.

The CAA said 151 raids and enforcement actions have been carried out so far in 2026, covering more than 4,038 helmets found in violation of the regulations, with legal action including seizure and suspension of sales. For the January-to-June period, the authority told the Daily Mirror it had instituted 53 legal cases and seized 87 non-compliant helmets, concluding 39 cases while 14 remain pending before courts.

The authority urged manufacturers to produce helmets only under valid SLS licences, and warned importers, distributors, wholesalers, retailers, mobile traders and online sellers against displaying or selling uncertified headgear.

Context

Motorcycles and three-wheelers account for the largest share of Sri Lanka’s vehicle fleet, and riders make up a substantial proportion of road deaths and serious injuries. A helmet that does not meet the SLS standard may pass a visual inspection while offering little protection in a crash, which is the practical risk behind the certification requirement.

The action follows a broader run of CAA standards enforcement this year, including a comparable crackdown on sanitary towels sold without SLS certification and action over uncertified canned fish. The authority has also been active on pricing, with recent operations targeting overcharging for medical tests at private hospitals.

Update (August 2)

The National Council for Road Safety has launched its own raids targeting manufacturers and sellers of uncertified helmets, working alongside the Sri Lanka Standards Institution and the CAA, NewsFirst reported on Sunday.

Council Chairman Manjula Kularatne said strict legal action would be taken against the manufacture and sale of any substandard helmets identified during the operation. He said wearing a substandard helmet is as dangerous as wearing none at all, and that using a helmet carrying the SLS mark is mandatory.

The council is the statutory body responsible for road safety policy under the Motor Traffic Act, and helmet standardisation falls within its remit. Its involvement widens an enforcement drive that until now had been led by the CAA, and follows the council’s recent push on rear-seat seatbelt enforcement and mandatory roadworthiness checks for buses.

Update (August 6): Two traders fined at Mahara

The Mahara Magistrate’s Court has fined a retailer and a distributor for dealing in helmets without the SLS certification mark, and ordered the destruction of the seized stock.

The CAA said its Gampaha District Investigation Unit instituted the case against New Indigahamula Oil Mart in Weliweriya and Rider Helmet in Makola North for violating Direction No. 59 issued under the Consumer Affairs Authority Act. A raid on July 28 seized 42 helmets that did not carry the SLS 517 mark. Investigators found the Weliweriya outlet had offered the non-compliant helmets for sale, while the Makola business had distributed them to the retailer.

Both defendants pleaded guilty. The court fined them Rs. 5,000 each — Rs. 10,000 in total — and ordered the immediate destruction of all 42 seized helmets.

The case is one of a series before the courts. The CAA has said it instituted 53 legal cases in the January-to-June period alone, concluding 39 and leaving 14 pending, against a running total of more than 4,038 helmets found in violation of the regulations this year. At Rs. 5,000 per defendant, the penalties available to the court are small relative to the volume of stock involved in the wider trade.

The authority asked the public to report the sale or distribution of uncertified helmets on its 1977 hotline during office hours.