By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –

THE Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has asked the Tax Appeals Tribunal to dismiss an application  by the Post Newspapers to summon its commissioner general to explain why the authority disobeyed an ex parte order to allow the newspaper to continue with its operations.
ZRA lawyers argued that the tribunal had no mandate to summon the commissioner general over the order.
Lawyers Chitupila Muleba, Kantumuya Katongo and M. Mwamba separately contended that the order which was issued by the tribunal had obligations to both parties which were supposed to be met before the order was complied with.
Mr Mwamba said the order required for the Post Newspapers to hand over trucks, trailers and other property to the tune of more than K53 million, which had not been ‎done.
He said that in as much as the ZRA had to meet certain obligations, it would do so after the appellant (Post Newspapers) met its obligations.
Mr Mwamba said the powers of the registrar were limited and were not available by law.
“In a nutshell, the registrar has no legal backing and the registrar ‎has no jurisdiction,” Mr Mwamba said.
Ms Katongo argued that the ex parte order issued by the tribunal was conditional as it had set an obligation on both parties.
She said the tribunal had no enforcement powers and urged the court to hear an application by ZRA to set aside the ex parte order it granted to The Post as it was irregular.
Mr Mwamba said the tribunal should throw out the Post Newspapers’ application and proceed to hear the application by ZRA.
However, Post Newspapers’ lawyers Nchima Nchito and Chisuwo Hamweela insisted that the ZRA boss be summoned to explain why the authority had willfully disobeyed the order issued by the tribunal.
Mr Nchito said the tribunal had power to hear their application because it was set up under the provisions of the law.
He argued that the order used the term ‘forthwith’, which meant that the ZRA was supposed to immediately oblige and allow the Post Newspapers to continue with its operations.
Mr Nchito said if the tribunal refused to summon the commissioner general, it should instead go ahead and hear The Post’s application on why the authority disobeyed the order.
Mr Hamweela asked the tribunal to attend to The Post’s application, stating that rendering the newspaper company hopeless with an order in its hand was undesirable and a recipe for anarchy.
Ruling will be delivered today.