East African Court of Justice, Arusha, 26th March, 2019: The First Instance Division decided that the government of Uganda violated the East African Community Treaty and the Customs Union and Common Market Protocols by imposing extra excise duty law over imported cigarettes within East Africa. This was a decision in the case filed by the British American Tobacco (BAT) Ltd Uganda, challenging the Government of Uganda over the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act of 2017, that was assented to by the President of Uganda on 13th June 2017,with a commencement date of 1st July 2017 and the Act was published in the Uganda Gazette on 30th June 2017. The government of Uganda through the Uganda Revenue Authority issued tax assessment notices on the basis of the above amendments requiring the BAT (Applicant) to pay excise duty for its cigarettes manufactured in Kenya and imported to Uganda. The tax assessment initially categorised the cigarettes as locally manufactured but subsequently re categorised the same as imported attracting excise duty at the higher rate for imported cigarettes, i.e. Ushs 75,000 per 1000 sticks of ‘soft cup’ and Ushs 100,000 per 1000 sticks of ‘hinge lid’.
The court further ordered that implementation of the provisions of Sec 2(a) and (b) of the Excise Duty (Amendment) Act No.11 of 2017 by misconstruction and wrongful re-classification of the British American Tobacco Ltd Uganda’s Cigarettes as ‘imported goods”, contravene and infringe on Articles 1 and 75 (6) of the Treaty as well as Articles 1 (1) and 15 (1) (a) and (2) of the Customs Union Protocol and Article 6 (1) of the Common Market Protocol.
The Court further ordered that the government’s misapplication of the provisions of the said Act by issuance of the payment registration slips for additional taxes in the sum of Ug shs 325,208,000 for the BAT’s 1,170 packages of soft cap cigarettes is illegal, null and void and the court ordered the gov’t with immediate effect to rescind and withdraw the payment registration slips.
In addition the court ordered the government to ensure the interpretation and application of Excise Duty Act with due regard and in compliance with applicable Community Law and to align the Ugandan tax laws with Community Law applicable to goods from EAC Partner States.
The court exercising its discretion ordered each party to bear its own costs on the basis that this case has canvassed matters of grave importance to the advancement of Community law and EAC intra-regional trade, which would be of significant public interest to across section of stakeholders within and beyond the EAC regional bloc.
The court however did not find any infringement of Articles 6 (d) and (e), 7 (1) (c) 75 (1) and (4) or 80(1) of the Treaty, neither was the alleged infringement of article 4 (5)(2) or 32 of the Common Market Protocol as alleged by the Applicant against the government of Uganda.
The judgment was delivered by Honourable Judges: Lady Justice Monica Mugenyi (Principle Judge), Justice Dr Faustin Ntezilyayao (Deputy Principal Judge), Justice Fakihi A. Jundu, Justice Audace Ngiye and Justice Charles Nyachae.
Notes for Editors:
On 30th June 2017, on 30th March 2017, the Government of Uganda published the Excise Duty (Amendment) Bill No.6 of 2017 in the Uganda Gazette proposing an increase in the rate of excise duty on cigarettes (soft cup) from Ushs. 50,000 per 1000 sticks to Ushs. 55,000 per 1000 sticks. The said rate was to apply uniformly to all applicable tobacco products manufactured within the EAC. The Bill was laid before the Parliament and referred to the Committee on finance, Planning and Economic Development. The Committee held meetings and prepared a report where it was recommended that the Bill be passed into law subject to a proposed amendment introducing different excise rates for locally manufactured and imported cigarettes. On 10th May 2017, the Bill was brought before the plenary, debated upon by Members of Parliament and subsequently passed by the Parliament. The Bill introduced amendments of excise duty on locally manufactured cigarettes (soft cup) to an amount of Ushs. 55,000 per 1000 sticks and Ushs. 75,000 per 1000 sticks for imports. While introducing Ushs 80,000 per 1000 sticks for hinge lid locally manufactured and Ushs. 100,000 per sticks for imported. The Act was assented to by the President of Uganda on 13th June 2017,with a commencement date of 1st July 2017 and the Act was published in the Uganda Gazette on 30th June 2017. The government of Uganda through the Uganda Revenue Authority issued tax assessment notices on the basis of the above amendments requiring the BAT (Applicant) to pay excise duty for its cigarettes manufactured in Kenya and imported to Uganda. The tax assessment initially categorised the cigarettes as locally manufactured but subsequently re categorised the same as imported attracting excise duty at the higher rate for imported cigarettes, i.e. Ushs 75,000 per 1000 sticks of ‘soft cup’ and Ushs 100,000 per 1000 sticks of ‘hinge lid’.
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For more information please contact: Yufnalis Okubo, Registrar, East African Court of Justice Tel: +255 27 2162149 Arusha, Tanzania Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.eacj.org
About the East African Court of Justice
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ or ‘the Court’), is one of the organs of the East African Community established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. Established in November 2001, the Court’s major responsibility is to ensure the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the EAC Treaty.
Arusha is the temporary seat of the Court until the Summit determines its permanent seat. The Court’s sub-registries are located in the respective National Courts in the Partner States.
East African Health Research Commission, 26th March, 2019, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: The Vice-President of the United Republic of Tanzania, H.E, Samia Hassan Suluhu, will on Wednesday, 27th March, 2019 to grace the official opening of the 7th East African Health and Scientific Conference (EAHSC) at the Julius Nyerere International Convention Centre in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The biannual event, which is the 7th in the series, is being held under the theme “Technology for health systems transformation and attainment of the UN-Sustainable Development Goals.’’
East African Community Secretariat, 22nd March, 2019:The 50 Million African Women Speak Networking Platform Project (50MWS) is working with different stakeholders to help solve the various issues that women in business face, including access to finance.
On the 21st March 2019, a 4-member delegation from the East African Community Secretariat together with two Officers from the Tanzanian Ministries in charge of East African Affairs and the Ministry responsible for Gender paid a visit to women empowerment organisations in Dar es Salaam.
The objective of this field visit was for the project to understand better how these organisations operate so as to enable the 50MWS Project forge partnerships around the women economic empowerment agenda.
East African Community Secretariat, Arusha, Tanzania, 22nd March, 2019. The EAC Deputy Secretary General in-charge of Productive and Social Sectors, Hon. Christophe Bazivamo has called upon pest control product companies to take advantage of EAC harmonized system for testing and registration of pesticides.
The 38th Extra-Ordinary Council of Ministers held on 30th January, 2019 approved the EAC pesticides management guidelines on efficacy trials, residue trials and registration requirements. The Council further directed Partner States to domesticate them by 30th May 2020.
The EAC harmonized system comes with a number of benefits that will translate to reduced time and costs associated with testing and registration of pest control products across EAC Partner States. It is expected that farmers in the region will have increased access to quality, safe and affordable pesticides.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 21st March, 2019: The Director General for Eastern Africa Region at the African Development Bank (AfDB), Mr. Gabriel Negatu has pledged more support to agriculture and industrialization in the East African Community (EAC) bloc.
The Director General made the statement yesterday when he paid a courtesy call on the EAC Secretary General Amb Liberat Mfumukeko at the EAC headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania. He noted that investment in agriculture and industrialization is the crucial for the development of the region.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 20th March, 2019: The East African Community Secretariat in collaboration with the Tanzanian Local Authorities in Arusha, the Arusha and Moshi Rwandan Community, the Embassy of Rwanda in Tanzania, the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (IRMCT), the Religious Denominations based here in Arusha, the Representatives of Students from High School and Universities of the Arusha region and EAC staff will commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda on Sunday 7 April, 2019 at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.
Themed “Remember-Unite-Renew”, this year’s commemoration will be an occasion to pay tribute to the more than one million innocent lives lost through the heinous extermination of Tutsis in Rwanda 25 years ago.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 13th March, 2019: Preparations for the 4th Edition of the East African Community Arts and Culture Festival, popularly known as Jumuiya ya Africa Mashariki Utamaduni Festival (JAMAFEST), are already in high gear with the 1st meeting of the Regional Steering Committee (RSC) being held from 4th to 8th March, 2019 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
The 1st meeting of the Regional Steering Committee was chaired by Mr. Nyakana Oswald, the EAC and Eastern Africa Officer in Rwanda’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, while Mr. Gwamaka Lazarous Mwandwani, the Community Development Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Tanzania was the Rapporteur.
East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 12th March, 2019: The Republic of Ireland has hailed the commitment of the six East African Community (EAC) Partner States to the EAC integration process.
Ireland’s Ambassador to Tanzania and the EAC, H.E. Paul Sherlock, further disclosed that his country would continue to promote trade and development cooperation between his country and the EAC.
East African Court of Justice Arusha 12th March, 2019: The First Instance Division on Monday heard the case filed by the government of Burundi (Applicant) challenging the process of electing the current Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) which was held on 19th December, 2017.
The Applicant argues that the elections that were held in the absence of the Honourable Members of the Republic of Burundi and the United Republic of Tanzania are in violation of the fundamental Principles of the Community under Articles 6 (d), 7 and 57 (1) and Rule 12 (1) of EALA Rules of Procedure.
The matter came before Honourable Judges Lady Justice Monica Mugenyi (Principal Judge), Justice Dr Faustin Ntezilyayao (Deputy Principal Judge), Justice Fakihi A. Jundu, Justice Dr. Charles Nyawello and Justice Charles Nyachae.
Mr. Nestor Kayobera, the Counsel representing Burundi, submitted to court that the election of the Speaker of EALA is governed by the EAC Treaty and the Assembly’s Rules of procedure and that Article 9 (4) of the Treaty obligates Organs and Institutions of the Community to perform the functions and act within the limits of the powers conferred upon them by the Treaty.
Mr. Kayobera also contended that the issue of quorum is a Treaty obligation under Article 57 and rule 12 (1) of EALA Rules of Procedure which provides that; The quorum of the House or of the Committee of the Whole House shall be half of the elected Members and such quorum shall be composed of at least one third of the elected Members from each Partner State”.He argued that, violation of the rule on quorum entails violation of the Treaty.
Counsel further submitted that on 19th December, 2017, the Speaker of EALA was elected without the Members from Burundi and Tanzania hence a violation of the principles of good governance and Rule of Law. Mr. Kayobera also argued that Article 23 of the Treaty provides powers to the Court as the judicial organ to ensure adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance of the Treaty.
Summing up his submissions, Mr. Kayobera said that the Speaker of EALA was not elected in accordance with the Treaty and the Rules of the Assembly and therefore asked the Court to order re election in accordance to the Treaty and rules of the Assembly. Mr Kayobera appeared with Mr Vyzigiro Diomede, State Attorney in the Attorney General’s Office Burundi.
Dr Anthony Kafumbe, representing the Secretary General (Respondent), on his part, submitted that the election of the Speaker was done under Part III of the Rules of Procedure of the Assembly. He further submitted that under Part III of EALA Rules of procedure, Rule 6 (9) (c) on the election of the Speaker, it is not mandatory for every member to vote, hence the Members of Burundi and Tanzania had liberty not to vote. Rule 6 (9) (c) states that; “After all Members who wish to vote have voted, the Clerk shall in full view of the Members present, empty the ballot box and immediately count the ballot paper contained in it”.
He also argued that the issue of quorum does not apply, that it only applies when the house is duly constituted. He therefore submitted that there was no illegal election process, that the Speaker was elected under relevant provisions of the Rules of procedure of the Assembly and that the election process did not violate the Treaty.
Dr. Kafumbe further submitted that as Article 9 of the Treaty obligates the Organs and Institutions of the Community, the Assembly acted within its mandate and in accordance with its rules of procedure.
Dr. Kafumbe also contended that Members of the Assembly have accepted the Speaker and a lot of business is going on and therefore, it would not be helpful to nullify the election and order fresh election.
Dr. Kafumbe also took issue with the Affidavits sworn by the Applicant’s Counsel on the basis of information relayed to him by EALA’s Members from the Republic of Burundi and submitted that the Court should reject the said affidavits as evidence since Counsel was not a witness and could not even have been a witness and a Counsel at the same time; the impugned affidavits ought to have been sworn by the Burundi’s Members of EALA, he argued.
In light of his submissions, Dr. Kafumbe prayed that the Reference be dismissed with costs to the Respondent. Dr Kafumbe was accompanied by Ms. Brenda Ntihinyurwa, a Legal expert in the Office of the Counsel to the Community.
The Intervener, Hon. Fred Mukasa Mbidd,e represented by Mr Donald Deya, Mr. Justin Semuyaba and Mr Nelson Ndeki in court, associated their submissions with the Respondent and asked the Court not to grant the orders sought by the Applicants.
The Court will deliver the judgment on notice.
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
The current Speaker of the East African Legislative Assembly is Rt Hon Martin Ngoga from the Republic of Rwanda, he was elected on 19th December 2017. The position of the Speaker is rotational and serves a period of five years.
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For more information please contact: Yufnalis Okubo, Registrar, East African Court of Justice Tel: +255 27 2162149 Arusha, Tanzania Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. http://www.eacj.org
About the East African Court of Justice
The East African Court of Justice (EACJ or ‘the Court’), is one of the organs of the East African Community established under Article 9 of the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community. Established in November 2001, the Court’s major responsibility is to ensure the adherence to law in the interpretation and application of and compliance with the EAC Treaty.
Arusha is the temporary seat of the Court until the Summit determines its permanent seat. The Court’s sub-registries are located in the respective National Courts in the Partner States.
East African Health Research Commission, 11th March 2019: Bujumbura: The 2nd meeting of the Regional Steering Committee for the preparation of the 7th East African Health and Scientific Conference (EAHSC) concluded on Friday in Dar es salaam, with delegates commending the National Steering Committee of the Host Country (United Republic of Tanzania) for the good work done so far in preparation for the event.
The Regional Steering Committee that met on 7th to 8th March 2019 at the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), reviewed progress and provided advice where necessary on the preparations.
