Chakala and Others v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Services and Another (72539/2016) [2017] ZAGPPHC 738 (10 November 2017)

Chakala and Others v Commissioner for the South African Revenue Services and Another (72539/2016) [2017] ZAGPPHC 738 (10 November 2017)

The court held that the applicants are entitled to the documents referred to by Mr Mkhabela during his evidence in aggravation of sentence on 9, 11, and 12 October 2017, as these are necessary for cross-examination and to ensure a fair sentencing process. The application is urgent only in respect of these documents due to the imminent sentencing hearing. The applicants are not entitled to other documents not used or referred to during those dates, as those are not urgent and pertain to the merits of the criminal case. The court found that s 69(2)(c) of the Tax Administration Act empowers it to order disclosure in these circumstances and that its inherent jurisdiction allows intervention...

Citation
[2017] ZAGPPHC 738
Parties
Applicant: Harry Tremorio Chakala; Applicant: Siyabonga Abiud Nqubuka; Applicant: HR Computek (Pty) Ltd; Respondent: Commissioner for the South African Revenue Services; Respondent: The National Prosecuting Authority
Court
North Gauteng High Court, Pretoria
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
10 November 2017
Case Number
72539/2016
Procedural Posture
Urgent Application / Application to Compel Discovery of Documents Under S 69 of the Tax Administration Act, Prior to Sentencing in Criminal Proceedings
Outcome
Application granted in part; urgent relief granted only for documents referred to by Mr Mkhabela during evidence in aggravation of sentence; application for other documents struck from the roll; each party to pay own costs.
Judges
E.M Kubushi
Legal Topics
Taxpayer Information Secrecy, Discovery of Documents, Tax Administration Act, Urgency in Applications
Tax Law Civil Procedure Taxpayer Information Secrecy Discovery of Documents Tax Administration Act Urgency in Applications

Case Brief

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Parties

Harry Tremorio Chakala

Applicant

Siyabonga Abiud Nqubuka

Applicant

HR Computek (Pty) Ltd

Applicant

Commissioner for the South African Revenue Services

Respondent

The National Prosecuting Authority

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Urgent Application / Application to Compel Discovery of Documents Under S 69 of the Tax Administration Act, Prior to Sentencing in Criminal Proceedings

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the applicants are entitled to an order compelling SARS to disclose documents referred to by its official during evidence in aggravation of sentence.
  2. 2 Whether the application is urgent in respect of the documents sought.
  3. 3 Whether the applicants approached the correct forum for relief under s 69(2)(c) of the Tax Administration Act.

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the applicants are entitled to the documents referred to by Mr Mkhabela during his evidence in aggravation of sentence on 9, 11, and 12 October 2017, as these are necessary for cross-examination and to ensure a fair sentencing process. The application is urgent only in respect of these documents due to the imminent sentencing hearing. The applicants are not entitled to other documents not used or referred to during those dates, as those are not urgent and pertain to the merits of the criminal case. The court found that s 69(2)(c) of the Tax Administration Act empowers it to order disclosure in these circumstances and that its inherent jurisdiction allows intervention...

Court Disposition

Application granted in part; urgent relief granted only for documents referred to by Mr Mkhabela during evidence in aggravation of sentence; application for other documents struck from the roll; each party to pay own costs.

Orders

  • The application is urgent only in respect of the documents used and/or referred to by Mr Mkhabela in his evidence tendered in the criminal proceedings (case number 41/1224/11) on 9, 11 and 12 October 2017.
  • The 1st respondent is ordered to disclose to the applicants the documents used and/or referred to by Mr Mkhabela in his evidence tendered in the criminal proceedings (case number 41/1224/11) on 9, 11 and 12 October 2017.