Appeal Court asked to urgently 'clarify, confirm' stay in Revenue Authority case

THE Privy Council has set aside July 17 and 18 to hear the Public Services Association (PSA) appeal over the operationalising of the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority (TTRA).

Attorneys for the PSA and the State were notified of the available dates for the hearing of the appeal in the Privy Council, which has agreed to expedite the hearing of the matter.

Earlier in June, Justices of Appeal Mark Mohammed, Charmaine Pemberton and Mira Dean-Armorer granted the PSA leave to take its challenge to the apex court. They also granted a limited stay until September 25.

This followed the Court of Appeal’s dismissal of the PSA’s challenge on May 28.

However, the PSA condemned a move by Finance Minister Colm Imbert to start operationalising the TTRA, as there was some confusion about the extent of the limited stay.

On June 27, PSA president Leroy Baptiste said letters were sent to staff of the Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) and Customs and Excise Division (CED) in “flagrant violation and gross disrespect.”

The PSA’s attorneys have sought an urgent emergency hearing asking the Court of Appeal to “correct” its order to specifically direct a stay of the implementation and operationalisation of section 18 of the TTRA Act.

Newsday understands a hearing is expected to be held sometime this week.

In a release on June 27, Imbert was adamant that the Appeal Court did not stop the implementation or operation of the TTRA.

He also said the Government had issued one last extension, to July 31, for public officers in the Board of Inland Revenue and the Customs and Excise Division to select their option under section 18 of the Act.

Imbert said he was advised by senior counsel that the Appeal Court’s order “does not stay the implementation or operation of section 18 of the act and that, therefore, the Government is free at this time to implement that section."

The release added, “Further, cognisant of the fact that there is a pending appeal before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the Government, as it has indicated to courts through its attorneys-at-law at all stages of proceedings, will take all required action to place public officers back in their previous positions at both the Customs and Excise Division and Inland Revenue Division should the Privy Council rule that the act is unconstitutional.”

On May 28, Justices of Appeal Nolan Bereaux, Pemberton and Dean-Armorer dismissed the challenge, which High Court judge Westmin James initially rejected in November 2023.

The PSA, through its member Terissa Dhoray, challenged the constitutional validity of the Revenue Act 2021. She contended that section 18 was unconstitutional, as it sought to interfere with the terms and conditions of employment of public servants currently assigned to the CED and BIR.

The section gave public servants – some 1,200 – three months to decide on their future employment on the operationalisation of the TTRA. Those affected had the choice to resign from the public service, accept a transfer to the TTRA or be transferred to another office in the public service.

The Revenue Authority Act was proclaimed with an effective date of May 1, 2023, and was scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2023.

The lawsuit specifically focused on Section 18 of the legislation, which President Christine Kangaloo proclaimed on April 24, 2023.

Initially, the deadline to do so was July 31, 2023, but there were at least five other extensions, with the last, on April 30, extending the deadline to June 3 before the final extension to July 31.

Commenting on the issue, Couva South MP Rudranath Indarsingh accused Imbert of "bullying" public officers and "misusing" his office to get a desired outcome in operationalising the TTRA.

He said Imbert’s ultimatum for BIR and CED employees to transfer to the TTRA by July 31, in spite of a pending appeal, showed a disregard for the judicial process.

“The move by Imbert to write to the employees of BIR and customs, prompting them to indicate whether they will engage in early retirement or in employment of TTRA, is a clear attempt to sideline the authority of the courts and to intimidate public sector workers,” Indarsingh said on June 29.

“Instead of bullying public servants the minister ought to focus on stimulating the economy and building economic opportunities in a country that has suffered immensely due to misplaced focus on functional competence.”