THE Public Services Association (PSA) has been granted conditional leave to take its challenge over the constitutionality of the operationalisation of the Trinidad and Tobago Revenue Authority (TTRA) to the Privy Council.
The union has also been granted a limited stay until September 25.
At a hearing at the Hall of Justice, Port of Spain, on June 4, Justices of Appeal Mark Mohammed, Charmaine Pemberton and Mira Dean-Armorer said it made sense to temporarily preserve the status quo, as it would be conducive to the ease of administration in the public’s interest, while mindful of the administration of justice.
However, the judges made it clear they could not agree to an open-ended extension.
The PSA has three days to approach the Privy Council, after which the Court of Appeal will grant final leave without a hearing.
The State did not oppose the leave application, but only argued against an open-ended stay, citing concerns over any further delay in the operationalisation of the authority, government’s ability to collect revenue and possible downgrades by international credit-rating agencies.
The Revenue Authority Act was proclaimed with an effective date of May 1, 2023, and was scheduled to take effect on August 1, 2023.
However, the PSA, through its member customs officer Terissa Dhoray, challenged the lawfulness of the authority. 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.
On June 4, Senior Counsel Douglas Mendes, who represents the State, said Finance Minister Colm Imbert intended to grant another extension until the end of June, while the Attorney General had agreed to an undertaking to reverse any of the choices made by public servants if the Privy Council rules the Revenue Authority Act unconstitutional. He argued against a stay being granted.
The PSA’s conditional leave application was filed on May 29, seeking an interim order staying the implementation and operation of section 18 of the Revenue Authority Act, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal to the Privy Council.
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 Appeal Court’s unanimous decision gave the Government the green light to proceed to implement the TTRA.
After the Appeal Court’s ruling, the Prime Minister said he instructed Imbert to proceed with plans to fully establish the authority.
In brief submissions on June 4, the PSA’s lead attorney Anand Ramlogan, SC, pressed for the stay, saying he was confident the Privy Council would hear the matter urgently, as it had been poised to do so when the first application for injunctive relief was sought in 2023. He said not to pause the process would be administratively “chaotic and confusing.”
