By Morkporkpor Anku
Accra, Sept. 6, GNA – Mr Jonathan A. Alua, a legal practitioner, has sued the AttorneyGeneral and the CommissionerGeneral of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) over passenger baggage tax exemptions.
The suit, filed under the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, challenges Regulation 18(2)(b) of the Exemptions Regulations, 2025 (L.I. 2514).
Mr Alua is asking the Court to declare the provision unconstitutional, arguing that it gives the CommissionerGeneral of the GRA the power to waive or vary taxes without the prior approval of Parliament.
He maintains that Article 174(2) of the 1992 Constitution requires any waiver or variation of a tax in favour of any person or authority to receive prior approval by a resolution of Parliament.
Mr Alua contends that the power granted under Regulation 18(2)(b) to determine the quantity of passenger baggage exempted from customs duties and taxes amounts to an exercise of that constitutional power.
He is, therefore, asking the Supreme Court to declare the regulation inconsistent with the Constitution to the extent that it permits the CommissionerGeneral or officers of the Customs Division to grant or refuse baggage exemptions on a casebycase basis without prior parliamentary approval.
Mr Alua is further seeking an order restraining the GRA from exercising the disputed power until the requirements of Article 174(2) have been complied with.
Alternatively, he wants the restriction lifted only if Parliament passes a resolution under Article 174(3) exempting the exercise of the power from the constitutional requirement.
The plaintiff is also asking the Supreme Court to issue any additional orders it considers necessary to give effect to the declarations being sought.
The AttorneyGeneral and the GRA are required to file their respective statements of case within 14 days after being served with the plaintiff’s statement of case.
The Supreme Court is expected to determine whether Regulation 18(2)(b) is consistent with the constitutional requirement for parliamentary approval of tax waivers or variations.
GNA
Edited by Kenneth Sackey