WC High Court to hear oral submissions in DA's bid to halt VAT hike
The DA will ask the court to declare the VAT increase announcement by the minister unlawful and also wants it to interdict the South African Revenue Service (SARS) from implementing the decision.
Democratic Alliance (DA) Federal Council chairperson, Helen Zille, holds up the party's court papers outside the Western Cape High Court on 3 April 2025. Picture: Babalo Ndenze/EWN
CAPE TOWN - The Western Cape High Court will on Tuesday hear oral submissions in the Democratic Alliance (DA)'s application to stop the VAT increase and also challenge the country's VAT laws.
The DA approached the court to have it set aside the 0.5 percentage point VAT increase announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in his Budget Speech in March and to also interdict its implementation on 1 May.
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has also joined the case as an "intervening party", where it's also opposing the VAT increase and the finance committee decisions to adopt the fiscal framework.
The DA will ask the court to declare the VAT increase announcement by the minister unlawful and also wants it to interdict the South African Revenue Service (SARS) from implementing the decision.
In Part B of its application, the DA goes further and wants the court to declare a section of the Value-Added Tax Act unconstitutional.
The party said this was because the decision was not considered by Parliament before it was announced.
In his responding papers, Godongwana defended the VAT increase, saying his announcement had "legal effect" and any attempt to change it was "moot".
Godongwana said the view that his VAT rate announcement was unlawful because of an alleged unlawful adoption of the fiscal framework also "has no legal basis".
The minister said it was too late to change the VAT increase and told the court in his answering affidavit that his decision to introduce the VAT rate change "cannot be interdicted at this stage".