Six courier companies to sue over online tax

Justice Ricky Rahim yesterday granted leave to Ecouriers Limited, Websource, Jet Box International, Aeropostale, CSF Couriers and Caribbean Shipping Agencies, which last week, filed an application for judicial review against the Minister of Finance and the Attorney General.

Representing the courier companies are attorneys Keith Scotland, Joel Roper, Gideon McMaster and Jacqueline Chang, while the Minister of Finance is represented by Senior Counsel Martin Daly and Jason Mootoo. Representing the AG are attorneys Michael Quamina and Sean Julien, who also instructs Daly for the Finance Minister.

At yesterday’s hearing, Rahim disclosed to attorneys that he was a “sky box” customer and had intended to grant leave to the courier companies, after he was told that the interim relief of an order to stop the imposition and implementation of the tax until the court makes a determination on the matter, was no longer being sought by the companies.

Daly also indicated to the court that there was a possible issue of delay in bringing the action in accordance to the rules governing judicial review claims.

The six courier companies, which have 14 days in which to file their application, are contending that the decision of the minister to implement the tax, which came into effect on October 20, last year following the presentation of the national budget, was irrational, wholly unreasonable and disproportionate to any aim of the State and was done without adequate consultation.

They also contend they were not given a fair opportunity to be heard prior to the imposition of the tax and this was in violation of the principles of procedural fairness.

They are seeking declarations that their rights were violated by the minister when he implemented the tax and that they were unfairly discriminated against.

The courier companies also want the court to declare that the actions of the minister and the manner on which his decision was made known was not reasonably justified and goes against the Fair Trading Act of 2006.

They say the online tax applies dissimilar conditions to equivalent transactions and places some trading partners at a disadvantage to others while distorting competition and confers an unfair advantage on ocean freight companies and arbitrarily and unfairly shields ocean freight companies from competition.

In the absence of a quashing of the tax, they are asking that it is also applied to goods imported via ocean freight as they believe it is a violation of the principles of procedural fairness.

The fiscal measure was announced by the Finance Minister Colm Imbert in September, last year, during the reading of the 2016-2017 Budget statement.

Imbert said then that the new tax will be imposed on purchases that arrive T&T through courier companies or brought in directly by individuals via air freight.

This measure, he said, was expected to raise an additional $70 million revenue.

The online tax will be “due and payable at the bonded warehouses before clearance of goods or directly to customs in the same way that VAT and customs duty are currently collected.” In one of the affidavits, the owner of Ecouriers Ltd said he lost routine customers who have chosen to ship items like televisions and advertising boards via ocean freight to evade the seven percent online tax.