diff --git a/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/pom.xml b/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/pom.xml
index 21338e0129..3a565f1762 100644
--- a/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/pom.xml
+++ b/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/pom.xml
@@ -107,6 +107,10 @@
             <groupId>javax.ws.rs</groupId>
             <artifactId>javax.ws.rs-api</artifactId>
         </dependency>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.wso2.carbon.devicemgt</groupId>
+            <artifactId>org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.common</artifactId>
+        </dependency>
     </dependencies>
 
 
diff --git a/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/apimgt/webapp/publisher/APIPublisherUtil.java b/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/apimgt/webapp/publisher/APIPublisherUtil.java
index 27e2af8fb6..4080429141 100644
--- a/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/apimgt/webapp/publisher/APIPublisherUtil.java
+++ b/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/apimgt/webapp/publisher/APIPublisherUtil.java
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@
 
 package org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher;
 
-import org.apache.commons.lang.StringUtils;
 import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
 import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 import org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.api.APIManagementException;
@@ -30,6 +29,10 @@ import org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher.config.APIResourceConfiguration;
 import org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher.config.WebappPublisherConfig;
 import org.wso2.carbon.base.MultitenantConstants;
 import org.wso2.carbon.core.util.Utils;
+import org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.common.scope.mgt.ScopeManagementException;
+import org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.common.scope.mgt.ScopeManagementService;
+import org.wso2.carbon.user.api.UserRealm;
+import org.wso2.carbon.user.api.UserStoreException;
 
 import javax.servlet.ServletContext;
 import java.util.*;
@@ -121,16 +124,18 @@ public class APIPublisherUtil {
                 if (scope != null) {
                     if (apiScopes.get(scope.getKey()) == null) {
                         apiScopes.put(scope.getKey(), scope);
-                    } else {
-                        existingScope = apiScopes.get(scope.getKey());
-                        existingPermissions = existingScope.getRoles();
-                        existingPermissions = getDistinctPermissions(existingPermissions + "," + scope.getRoles());
-                        existingScope.setRoles(existingPermissions);
-                        apiScopes.put(scope.getKey(), existingScope);
                     }
                 }
             }
             Set<Scope> scopes = new HashSet<>(apiScopes.values());
+            // adding existing persisted roles to the scopes
+            try {
+                setExistingRoles(scopes);
+            } catch (ScopeManagementException | UserStoreException e) {
+                throw new APIManagementException("Error occurred while retrieving roles for the existing scopes");
+            }
+
+            // set current scopes to API
             api.setScopes(scopes);
 
             // this has to be done because of the use of pass by reference
@@ -307,9 +312,34 @@ public class APIPublisherUtil {
         return apiConfig;
     }
 
-    private static String getDistinctPermissions(String permissions) {
-        String[] unique = new HashSet<String>(Arrays.asList(permissions.split(","))).toArray(new String[0]);
-        return StringUtils.join(unique, ",");
+    /**
+     * This method is used to set the existing roles of the given scope.
+     *
+     * @param scopes List of scopes.
+     * @throws ScopeManagementException
+     */
+    private static void setExistingRoles(Set<Scope> scopes) throws ScopeManagementException, UserStoreException {
+        String scopeKey;
+        String roles;
+        ScopeManagementService scopeManagementService = WebappPublisherUtil.getScopeManagementService();
+        UserRealm userRealm = WebappPublisherUtil.getUserRealm();
+
+        if (scopeManagementService == null) {
+            throw new ScopeManagementException("Error occurred while initializing scope management service");
+        } else if (userRealm == null) {
+            throw new UserStoreException("Error occurred while initializing realm service");
+        } else {
+            String adminRole = userRealm.getRealmConfiguration().getAdminRoleName();
+            for (Scope scope : scopes) {
+                scopeKey = scope.getKey();
+                roles = scopeManagementService.getRolesOfScope(scopeKey);
+                if (roles == null) {
+                    roles = adminRole;
+                }
+                scope.setRoles(roles);
+
+            }
+        }
     }
 
 }
diff --git a/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/apimgt/webapp/publisher/WebappPublisherUtil.java b/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/apimgt/webapp/publisher/WebappPublisherUtil.java
index 17e2edb9a8..ca2f0cba13 100644
--- a/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/apimgt/webapp/publisher/WebappPublisherUtil.java
+++ b/components/apimgt-extensions/org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/apimgt/webapp/publisher/WebappPublisherUtil.java
@@ -18,7 +18,16 @@
 
 package org.wso2.carbon.apimgt.webapp.publisher;
 
+import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
+import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 import org.w3c.dom.Document;
+import org.wso2.carbon.context.CarbonContext;
+import org.wso2.carbon.context.PrivilegedCarbonContext;
+import org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.common.scope.mgt.ScopeManagementService;
+import org.wso2.carbon.user.api.UserRealm;
+import org.wso2.carbon.user.api.UserStoreException;
+import org.wso2.carbon.user.api.UserStoreManager;
+import org.wso2.carbon.user.core.service.RealmService;
 
 import javax.xml.XMLConstants;
 import javax.xml.parsers.DocumentBuilder;
@@ -31,6 +40,10 @@ import java.io.File;
  */
 public class WebappPublisherUtil {
 
+    private static Log log = LogFactory.getLog(WebappPublisherUtil.class);
+    private static final int CARBON_SUPER = -1234;
+
+
     public static Document convertToDocument(File file) throws WebappPublisherConfigurationFailedException {
         DocumentBuilderFactory factory = DocumentBuilderFactory.newInstance();
         factory.setNamespaceAware(true);
@@ -44,4 +57,32 @@ public class WebappPublisherUtil {
         }
     }
 
+    public static ScopeManagementService getScopeManagementService() {
+        PrivilegedCarbonContext ctx = PrivilegedCarbonContext.getThreadLocalCarbonContext();
+        ScopeManagementService scopeManagementService =
+                (ScopeManagementService) ctx.getOSGiService(ScopeManagementService.class, null);
+        if (scopeManagementService == null) {
+            String msg = "Scope Management Service has not been initialized.";
+            log.error(msg);
+            throw new IllegalStateException(msg);
+        }
+        return scopeManagementService;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Getting the current tenant's user realm
+     */
+    public static UserRealm getUserRealm() throws UserStoreException {
+        RealmService realmService;
+        UserRealm realm;
+        PrivilegedCarbonContext ctx = PrivilegedCarbonContext.getThreadLocalCarbonContext();
+        realmService = (RealmService) ctx.getOSGiService(RealmService.class, null);
+
+        if (realmService == null) {
+            throw new IllegalStateException("Realm service not initialized");
+        }
+        realm = realmService.getTenantUserRealm(CARBON_SUPER);
+        return realm;
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.common/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/common/scope/mgt/ScopeManagementService.java b/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.common/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/common/scope/mgt/ScopeManagementService.java
index 3066d059d7..b90011aaf0 100644
--- a/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.common/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/common/scope/mgt/ScopeManagementService.java
+++ b/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.common/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/common/scope/mgt/ScopeManagementService.java
@@ -42,4 +42,12 @@ public interface ScopeManagementService {
      */
     List<Scope> getAllScopes() throws ScopeManagementException;
 
+    /**
+     * This method is to retrieve the roles of the given scope
+     * @param scopeKey key of the scope
+     * @return List of roles
+     * @throws ScopeManagementException
+     */
+    String getRolesOfScope(String scopeKey) throws ScopeManagementException;
+
 }
diff --git a/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/ScopeManagementServiceImpl.java b/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/ScopeManagementServiceImpl.java
index 3908abef77..59418e760f 100644
--- a/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/ScopeManagementServiceImpl.java
+++ b/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/ScopeManagementServiceImpl.java
@@ -66,13 +66,32 @@ public class ScopeManagementServiceImpl implements ScopeManagementService {
             ScopeManagementDAOFactory.openConnection();
             scopes = scopeManagementDAO.getAllScopes();
         } catch (SQLException e) {
-            throw new ScopeManagementException("SQL error occurred while adding scopes to database.", e);
+            throw new ScopeManagementException("SQL error occurred while retrieving scopes from database.", e);
         } catch (ScopeManagementDAOException e) {
-            throw new ScopeManagementException("Error occurred while adding scopes to database.", e);
+            throw new ScopeManagementException("Error occurred while retrieving scopes from database.", e);
         } finally {
             ScopeManagementDAOFactory.closeConnection();
         }
         return scopes;
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public String getRolesOfScope(String scopeKey) throws ScopeManagementException {
+        String roles;
+        if (scopeKey == null || scopeKey.isEmpty()) {
+            throw new ScopeManagementException("Scope key is null or empty");
+        }
+        try {
+            ScopeManagementDAOFactory.openConnection();
+            roles = scopeManagementDAO.getRolesOfScope(scopeKey);
+        } catch (SQLException e) {
+            throw new ScopeManagementException("SQL error occurred while retrieving roles of scope from database.", e);
+        } catch (ScopeManagementDAOException e) {
+            throw new ScopeManagementException("Error occurred while retrieving roles of scope from database.", e);
+        } finally {
+            ScopeManagementDAOFactory.closeConnection();
+        }
+        return roles;
+    }
+
 }
diff --git a/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/dao/ScopeManagementDAO.java b/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/dao/ScopeManagementDAO.java
index b39be499d5..38517f6c4e 100644
--- a/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/dao/ScopeManagementDAO.java
+++ b/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/dao/ScopeManagementDAO.java
@@ -43,4 +43,12 @@ public interface ScopeManagementDAO {
      */
     List<Scope> getAllScopes() throws ScopeManagementDAOException;
 
+    /**
+     * This method is to retrieve the roles of the given scope
+     * @param scopeKey key of the scope
+     * @return List of roles
+     * @throws ScopeManagementDAOException
+     */
+    String getRolesOfScope(String scopeKey) throws ScopeManagementDAOException;
+
 }
diff --git a/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/dao/impl/ScopeManagementDAOImpl.java b/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/dao/impl/ScopeManagementDAOImpl.java
index 8ac862b799..7e46392446 100644
--- a/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/dao/impl/ScopeManagementDAOImpl.java
+++ b/components/device-mgt/org.wso2.carbon.device.mgt.core/src/main/java/org/wso2/carbon/device/mgt/core/scope/mgt/dao/impl/ScopeManagementDAOImpl.java
@@ -89,6 +89,31 @@ public class ScopeManagementDAOImpl implements ScopeManagementDAO {
         }
     }
 
+    @Override
+    public String getRolesOfScope(String scopeKey) throws ScopeManagementDAOException {
+        Connection conn;
+        PreparedStatement stmt = null;
+        ResultSet rs = null;
+        String roles = null;
+
+        try {
+            conn = this.getConnection();
+            String sql = "SELECT ROLES FROM IDN_OAUTH2_SCOPE WHERE SCOPE_KEY = ?";
+            stmt = conn.prepareStatement(sql);
+            stmt.setString(1, scopeKey);
+            rs = stmt.executeQuery();
+
+            if (rs.next()) {
+                roles = rs.getString("ROLES");
+            }
+            return roles;
+        } catch (SQLException e) {
+            throw new ScopeManagementDAOException("Error occurred while fetching the details of the scopes.", e);
+        } finally {
+            ScopeManagementDAOUtil.cleanupResources(stmt, rs);
+        }
+    }
+
     private Connection getConnection() throws SQLException {
         return ScopeManagementDAOFactory.getConnection();
     }