25/04/2020
Force Judgement Haunts Tax Court
INCONSISTENT government policy and a February court ruling on debts are now constituting a time-bomb, threatening the huge backlog of tax-related cases, which the judiciary is battling to clear due to a lack of qualified judges.
The Special Court for Income Tax Appeals and Fiscal Court of Appeal are struggling to clear the backlog of cases numbering around 50. This has been worsened by Zimbabwe’s long-standing currency conundrum.
The two specialist tribunals were instituted in July 1995 to adjudicate on tax-related matters arising against the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), including value-added tax, customs and excise duty cases. The courts last functioned properly in 1999.
Prominent lawyer and Commercial Arbitration Centre chairperson Muchadeyi Masunda told businessdigest last week that cases arising from Zimbabwe’s currency turmoil are now flooding the Constitutional Court.
While most of the cases date back more than a decade ago, Masunda said following a high-profile matter involving a private company, NR Barber Ltd, there is less likelihood of the tax courts substantively concluding such cases as they will keep coming back.
Masunda said the NR Barber case, still pending in court since February, will set a precedent for other matters.NR Barber, locked in a legal battle with Zambezi Gas Zimbabwe Ltd over a US$3,8 million debt, sought the Constitutional Court’s intervention following a ruling by the Supreme Court that all debts incurred before February 22, 2019 be settled using the local currency on a one-to-one basis.
“It’s going to be bone of contention in a number a cases, just that the judgments are not being handed down timeously due to a lack of qualified judges to handle these matters. But I tell you it’s certainly going to be an issue that will be brought up. Remember the Barber case. Those are the sorts of issues that are being raised at the Constitutional Court,” Masunda said.
“Unfortunately, (Chief Justice Luke) Malaba was one
