Listen to this article.
By Palesa Matlala
- The Economic Freedom Fighters told the Western Cape High Court the fuel levy hike was used to plug the budget hole left by the failed Value Added Tax increase.
- Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana insists the law gives him full power to increase the fuel levy without waiting for Parliament to approve it.
The Economic Freedom Fighters and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana clashed again in the Western Cape High Court on Wednesday in a fierce legal battle over rising fuel costs.
The red berets want the latest fuel levy increase thrown out and declared unconstitutional.
But South Africans hoping for quick relief at the pumps will have to wait longer after the full bench reserved judgment.
At the centre of the explosive court fight is one question.
Can the finance minister increase the fuel levy on his own without Parliament approving it?
The Economic Freedom Fighters says no.
Advocate Mfesana Ka Siboto, representing the party, argued that sections of the Customs and Excise Act give Godongwana far too much unchecked power.
He told the court the fuel levy increase announced during February’s budget was effectively a replacement for the failed Value Added Tax increase from last year.
Ka Siboto argued that any move involving taxes and levies should go through Parliament like every other money bill.
“A bill is a money bill if it abolishes, reduces, or grants exemptions from any national taxes, levies, duties, or surcharges,” he told the court.
The Economic Freedom Fighters believes the levy increase should never have been pushed through by the minister alone.
But Godongwana’s legal team hit back hard.
Advocate Kameel Premhid argued the fuel levy is not a new tax and said the minister already has legal authority to adjust it.
“The minister is not inventing a new tax,” Premhid argued.
“He’s simply exercising his power to change the levy, which he’s entitled to do.”
Premhid also warned that forcing every fuel levy increase through Parliament could delay the process for months or even a year.
Godongwana further rejected claims that the fuel levy increase was a “like for like” replacement for the failed Value Added Tax hike.
His legal team argued the levy increase would bring in far less money than the abandoned Value Added Tax plan.
“He still had about R57-billion black hole in the budget,” Premhid told the court.
“That demonstrates why this argument is not supported by the facts.”
The case could have major consequences for how future finance ministers use their powers to raise money for the state.
The court said judgment will be delivered at a later date.
Pictured: Economic Freedom Fighters leader Julius Malema.
Image source: Economic Freedom Fighters
