Zest Polyurethanes (Pty) Limited v Minister of Trade & Industry (15216/2017) [2019] ZAWCHC 14 (20 February 2019)

Zest Polyurethanes (Pty) Limited v Minister of Trade & Industry (15216/2017) [2019] ZAWCHC 14 (20 February 2019)

The court found that the dti's decision to refuse payment of the approved grant was based on irrelevant considerations, namely the incorrect employee figures, and failed to consider the corrected figures provided by the applicant. The dti did not exercise its discretion regarding the correction and instead rigidly applied the guidelines, amounting to an impermissible fettering of discretion. The error in the applicant's employment numbers was not material to the approval or purpose of the grant, and the dti's failure to engage with the corrected information rendered its decision unreasonable. The court held that the applicant was entitled to administrative fairness and that the dti's...

Citation
[2019] ZAWCHC 14
Parties
Applicant: Zest Polyurethanes (Pty) Limited; Respondent: Minister of Trade & Industry
Court
Western Cape High Court, Cape Town
Jurisdiction
South Africa
Judgment Date
20 February 2019
Case Number
15216/2017
Procedural Posture
Review Application / Judgment
Outcome
Application granted; the dti's decision is set aside and remitted for reconsideration with directions.
Judges
P A Myburgh
Legal Topics
Promotion of Administrative Justice Act, Grant Application Review, Exercise of Discretion, Irrelevant Considerations, Unreasonableness, Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme
Administrative Law Commercial and Corporate Promotion of Administrative Justice Act Grant Application Review Exercise of Discretion Irrelevant Considerations Unreasonableness Manufacturing Competitiveness Enhancement Programme

Case Brief

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Parties

Zest Polyurethanes (Pty) Limited

Applicant

Minister of Trade & Industry

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Review Application / Judgment

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the dti's decision to refuse payment of the approved grant to the applicant was lawful and reasonable.
  2. 2 Whether the applicant's error in stating the number of employees in its grant application was fatal to its claim.
  3. 3 Whether the dti failed to exercise its discretion by not considering the corrected employee figures.

Ratio Decidendi

The court found that the dti's decision to refuse payment of the approved grant was based on irrelevant considerations, namely the incorrect employee figures, and failed to consider the corrected figures provided by the applicant. The dti did not exercise its discretion regarding the correction and instead rigidly applied the guidelines, amounting to an impermissible fettering of discretion. The error in the applicant's employment numbers was not material to the approval or purpose of the grant, and the dti's failure to engage with the corrected information rendered its decision unreasonable. The court held that the applicant was entitled to administrative fairness and that the dti's...

Court Disposition

Application granted; the dti's decision is set aside and remitted for reconsideration with directions.

Orders

  • The decision of the dti dated 20 June 2016 not to pay the applicant the approved grant amount, or any amount at all, is set aside.
  • The decision is remitted to the dti with directions that the applicant's failure to state the correct number of employees in its application for the MCEP is not fatal to the application.