Law Portal
Zimbabwe

Welcome To Law Portal

Welcome, Guest!
[Help?]

Rules of Construction or Interpretation re: Tax Legislation, Ambiguous Fiscal Provisions and the Contra Fiscum Rule

HH30-08 : BINDURA NICKEL CORPORATION LTD vs THE ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY
Ruled By: CHATUKUTA J

A strict approach is adopted in the interpretation of fiscal legislation. See RICHARD JOOSTE on Revenue Law, 1995…,; A..S. SILKE on South African Income Tax, 8th Edition, 1975…,. Where the statute is expressed in clear, precise and unambiguous words, the court can only expound those words in their ordinary and natural sense and nothing more. Commissioner of Taxes v C.W ...
More

HH42-10 : BERNCORN (PVT) LTD T/A TWO KEYS TRANSPORT vs ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY
Ruled By: CHATUKUTA J

GARWE JA in Zimbabwe Revenue Authority Anor v Murowa Diamonds (Pvt) Ltd SC41-09 decided that the word “obtain” would be accorded its literal meaning. He cited with approval..., the remarks by MAKARAU JP..., that - “The natural meaning of the word appears to me to be clear. It means to get in common ...
More

HH81-11 : HEYWOOD HAULAGE INVESTMENTS CENTRAL AFRICA (PVT) LTD vs THE COMMISSIONER GENERAL
Ruled By: CHIWESHE JP

In terms of paragraph 3(1)(a) of the 13th Schedule to the Income Tax Act [Chapter 23:06] where remuneration from which employees' tax is required to be withheld is wholly or partly remuneration paid in foreign currency, the employer must remit PAYE thereof in foreign currency. Remuneration paid in foreign currency is defined in the same ...
More

CC09-16 : BENARD WEKARE and MUSANGANO LODGE (PVT) LTD t/a MUSANGANO LODGE vs THE STATE and THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ZIMBABWE and ZIMBABWE BROADCASTING CORPORATION
Ruled By: MALABA DCJ, ZIYAMBI JCC, GWAUNZA JCC, GARWE JCC, GOWORA JCC, HLATSHWAYO JCC, PATEL JCC, GUVAVA JCC and MAVANGIRA AJCC

Where the construction of a tax law is doubtful, the doubt is to be resolved in favour of those upon whom the tax is sought to be laid.
More

Appealed
SC76-17 : CARE INTERNATIONAL IN ZIMBABWE vs ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY and DESMOND MAMINIMINI and SURVIVAL HARDWARE (PRIVATE) LIMITED
Ruled By: GOWORA JA, HLATSHWAYO JA and BHUNU JA

A construction of the body of statutes concerned with matters of revenue assessment, collection and enforcement requires a purposive approach from the courts as a whole. The purpose of the statutes, as a whole, should be the guiding factor in the determination of the enquiry….,. The author, G DEVENISH, in his book Interpretation of Statutes (Juta 1992)…, describes the ...
More

HH129-15 : DELTA BEVERAGES (PVT) LTD vs ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY
Ruled By: MAKONI J

Counsel for the applicant…, submitted that in the interpretation of tax legislation which is uncertain the contra fiscum maxim applies….,. The contra fiscum rule is a common law principle stipulating that should a taxing statutory provision reveal ambiguity, the ambiguous provision must be interpreted in a manner that favours a taxpayer. See Badenhorst v CIR 1955 (2) SA 207 (215). Put in ...
More

SC13-19 : ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY vs STANBIC BANK ZIMBABWE LIMITED
Ruled By: GUVAVA JA, MAVANGIRA JA and ZIYAMBI AJA

Counsel for the respondent argued, on the strength of Commissioner for Inland Revenue v Simpson 1949 (4) SA 678 (A)..., that, in the interpretation of fiscal legislation, one must look to what is clearly said.
More

View Appeal
HH314-16 : AS SCHOOL and CSS SCHOOL and SET COLLEGE and GST SCHOOL and SC COLLEGE and CB SCHOOL vs ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY
Ruled By: KUDYA J

It is trite law that all accounting practices, procedures, policies and preferences play second fiddle to the tax legislation in force in any given year of assessment. I made the same point in Standard Chartered Bank of Zimbabwe v Zimbabwe Revenue Authority 2007 (1) ZLR 228 (H)…,.
More

SC19-19 : ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY vs WARINGA INVESTMENTS (PRIVATE) LIMITED
Ruled By: GWAUNZA JA, MAKARAU JA and BHUNU JA

The contra fiscum rule prescribes that the meaning that benefits the individual against the State Treasury should be adopted. See Sekrtaris Van Binnelandse Inkomste v Raubenheiner 1969 (4) SA 314 (A). Likewise, in the case of S v Galguits Garage (Pty) Ltd 1969 (2) 459 (A), the court held that in cases of doubt, the most favourable interpretation to the ...
More

SC03-21 : AFRITRADE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED vs ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY
Ruled By: PATEL JA, BHUNU JA and BERE JA

It is trite that the provisions of a statute must be construed holistically, within the context of the statute in which they appear, as well as any statute in pari materia.
More

Appealed
SC82-21 : TRIANGLE LIMITED and HIPPO VALLEY ESTATES LIMITED vs ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY and OTHERS
Ruled By: GWAUNZA DCJ, MATHONSI JA and CHITAKUNYE AJA

This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court sitting at Masvingo, delivered on 24 June 2020, which dismissed with costs the application made by the two appellants for a declaratory order and an interdict.FACTUAL BACKGROUNDThe two appellants are sugar-producing giants in the Lowveld while the first respondent ...
More

View Appeal
HMA28-20 : TRIANGLE LIMITED and HIPPO VALLEY ESTATES vs ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY and OTHERS
Ruled By: ZISENGWE J

The parties in this application are embroiled in a bitter dispute over the implications of their failure to specifically include Value Added Tax (abbreviated herein as “VAT”) matters in agreements for the milling of sugarcane.The applicants are both companies duly incorporated in terms of the laws of Zimbabwe whose names ...
More

SC140-21 : MBCA BANK (PRIVATE) LIMITED (Now known as Nedbank Zimbabwe Limited) vs ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY
Ruled By: GUVAVA JA, UCHENA JA and MAKONI JA

In the case of Parkington v Attorney General 1869 LR 4 H.L. 100, 122 LORD CAIRNS, commenting on interpretation of fiscal statutes, said:“As I understand the principle of all fiscal legislation it is this: If a person sought to be taxed comes within the letter of the law he must ...
More

HH99-18 : C F (PVT) LTD vs ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY
Ruled By: KUDYA J

This is an appeal against four amended income tax assessments number 20211442 for the year ending 31 December 2009; 20211443 for the year ending 31 December 2010; 202211446 for the year ending 31 December 2011; and 20211448 for the year ending 31 December 2012 that were issued against the appellant ...
More

HH149-16 : ZIMASCO (PRIVATE) LIMITED vs COMMISSIONER GENERAL OF THE ZIMBABWE REVENUE AUTHORITY
Ruled By: HLATSHWAYO J

On 23 January 2015, after hearing counsel and having gone through papers filed of record, and the parties having failed to settle the matter on the basis of recent precedent, I gave an order dismissing the appeal with costs and indicated that reasons thereof will follow in due course.I now ...
More

Back Main menu

Categories

Back to top