‘You do not go to court with speculations and conjecture’ – Attorney General to minority MPs

Dame taunts minority MPs after court throws out injunction application against E-Levy

Minority was unable to prove irregularities with the implementation of the E-Levy - A-G

Supreme Court unanimously dismisses injunctions against E-Levy application

The Minister for Justice and Attorney General, Godfred Dame, has questioned the rationale behind the injunction filed by three members of the minority caucus of Parliament to stop the implementation of E-Levy.

Following the dismissal of the application for injunction by the Supreme Court, the Attorney General said that the three Members of Parliament (MP) filed the application based on assumptions and guesswork.

He indicated that because the minority MPs had no firm ground to make their case, the Supreme Court had no option than to rule against them.

“You do not go to court with speculations and conjecture, you go to court on firm evidence….The applicants were unable to demonstrate any form of irregularity,” he told journalists in Accra after the Supreme Court dismissed the application against the E-Levy.

The three NDC MPs, Haruna Iddrisu, Mahama Ayariga and Samuel Okudzto Ablakwa filed an injunction application against the implementation of the Electronic Transfer Levy (E-Levy) in the Supreme Court.

They argued that the court should not allow the implementation of the levy to commence till it rules on a suit they have filed against the Attorney-General challenging the passage of the E-Levy because Parliament did not form a quorum during the passage of the bill.

However, the Supreme Court on Wednesday, May 4, 2022, unanimously ruled against the injunction application.

The court explained that stopping the implementation of the E-levy might lead to revenue loss by the state should the ruling on the substantive matter point to the fact the levy was legally passed. It added that in the event that the ruling points to the levy being illegal, the Ghana Revenue Authority can reimburse people who have paid the levy.

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