 Niël Terblanché
Eight people accused of a N$830 million tax refund scam will return to the High Court in Windhoek on September 12 for a hearing to determine whether money owed to the Namibian Revenue Agency may still be taken from their salaries.
The eight applicants are among the 1 168 people involved in the tax refund scheme.
The accused work for a number of governmental and private organisations.
At the time of its discovery, the scam had costed the Namibian fiscus N$833 million.
The eight applicants, Joseph Eben Tuzembeho, Herbert Tjongarero, Vivian Upingasana, Edward Louis, Katamundo Kahorongo, Dawid Mootu, Wendy Kamuiiri, and Frederik Tjikuzu, approached the High Court in December last year with an application seeking relief from paying NamRa through salary deductions.
The Registrar of the High Court informed the applicants that the hearing to excuse their noncompliance with the court’s rules and decisions taken by NamRa to implement the Impugned Decisions and or invoke the Impugned Decision in respect of the applicants be temporarily stayed.
During the hearing, the applicants also requested that NamRa order that Nedbank Limited, Standard Bank Namibia, First National Bank Namibia, the University of Namibia, and Sanlam Namibia Holdings temporarily cease all and any deductions from the applicants’ salaries; and that NamRa refund all money already deducted to the respective applicants.
The Attorney General, government, the Minister of Finance and Public Enterprises, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, the Commissioner of Inland Revenue, and the Chairperson of the Board of NamRa are the other respondents in the matter.
The petitioners also requested that respondents pay their legal counsel fees if they oppose the relief they seek during the September hearing.
The outcome of the September hearing will decide the remedies sought by the applicants in Part B of their claim.
In the second part of their application, the applicants made an order that calls on all the respondents to show cause on why the notices given to the respective applicants by NamRa on various dates informing them about their tax liability and the amounts the applicants allegedly owed in income tax and demanding payment should not be reviewed and set aside.
The applicants called on all the respondents to show cause why the court should not declare that: Section 91 of the Income Tax Act, 1981 (Act 24 of 1981) is unconstitutional and refer it to Parliament to rectify it within twelve months from the date of judgment as contemplated by Article 25(1)(a) of the Namibian Constitution.
The Registrar of the High Court also informed the parties that they are ordered to file a joint case management report relating to the issues for determination, as envisaged in rule 72(2) of the High Court Rules on or before 18 August 2023. That the applicants should deliver heads of argument on or before 1 September 2023 while the respondents should deliver heads of argument on or before 6 September 2023.
