By PERPETUAL SICHIKWENKWE –
THE Lusaka High Court has dismissed an application by the Post Newspapers Limited that was seeking to enforce an order to stop the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) from levying distress to recover tax liabilities.
Judge Eddie Sikazwe said in his ruling on Thursday that his court had no jurisdiction to enforce a High Court order of December 11, 2015, because the same fell out following the Supreme Court judgment of June 16, 2016 allowing the ZRA to demand full settlement of tax obligations from the Post Newspapers.
Deputy Chief Justice Mervin Mwanamwambwa on June 16, 2016, reversed Lusaka High Court judge Mwiinde Siavwapa’s decision to grant the Post Newspapers stay of execution of his October 10, 2015, judgment and said courts should not be swayed by sympathy into making moral judgments.
Mr Justice Siavwapa had stayed his judgment of October 10, 2015, saying it would not be in the interest of the ZRA and the nation to collect outstanding tax at once and render families jobless while an appeal was pending.
But Mr Justice Mwanamwambwa reversed the ruling, prompting the ZRA to swing into action and shut down the operations of the newspaper to recover its tax liabilities.
The Post Newspapers, however, on June 23, 2016 filed an application before Mr Justice Sikazwe asking him to order the ZRA, whether by themselves or their agents or servants, to comply with the order of December 11, 2015 and for it to hand over the newspapers’ plant and head office.
On the same date, the ZRA filed a notice to raise a preliminary issue wanting Mr Justice Sikazwe to determine whether the application by the Post Newspapers was properly before him, having originally been set down before Mr Justice Siavwapa.
The ZRA wanted the court to guide whether it could enforce an order which did not have a penal notice.
Mr Justice Sikazwe, however, said in his ruling on Thursday that following the judgment by the Supreme Court reversing Mr Justice Siavwapa’s decision, the order of December 11, 2015, was no longer enforceable as it had automatically fallen off.
“In the light of the foregoing, I agree with counsel for the respondent that this court does not have the necessary jurisdiction to hear and determine this matter,” Mr Justice Sikazwe said.
He dismissed the application with costs to the ZRA to be taxed in default of agreement.
Mr Justice Sikazwe, however, granted the Post Newspapers leave to appeal to the Supreme Court within 14 days from July 14, 2016.