Tax Appeal Court facing shut down

Chairman of the board, Anthony Gafoor, informed lawyers yesterday that the court will be shut down by the end of next week, and he does not know when the court will sit again. This caught some attorneys by surprise.

Gafoor was informed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of the Attorney General that the court will have to move out to make way for additional space for the Judiciary at the Hall of Justice.

The board will move offices to the AS Bryden building at the corner of George Street and Independence Square, Port-of Spain. But the building will only be used as a registry for filing of documents and for accommodating the members of the Tax Appeal Board. There will be no courtroom at this building. Lawyers who frequent this court have already indicated that they will not be walking all the way to AS Bryden building, citing safety concerns. Contacted yesterday, Gafoor told Newsday that the accommodation at AS Bryden was temporary. He said accommodation has been found for the board and the court at a new building, now under construction at the corner of Duke Street and Victoria Square West, but he could not say when it would be ready. According to the billboard at Victoria Square, the site is due for completion by June 30, 2006, but just one floor of the proposed four-storey building has been completed.

Gafoor pointed out that the shutdown of the court will result in a heavy backlog whenever it resumes. He could not say when the court would resume, but he did admit that there were heavy and high-profile tax cases due to be heard in the coming months.

The problem arose for the board when Chief Justice Sat Sharma wrote to Gafoor last June 6, stating that the board must be out of the Hall of Justice by September 1. The Judiciary needs the space for the additional judges sworn in last week by the President.

After occupying the Hall of Justice for 26 years, the board had nowhere to go, Gafoor responded. Attorney General John Jeremie entered the fray. Gafoor found that the LJ Williams building at 123-126 St Vincent Street was a likely venue, but this was not agreed to by the Attorney General’s office. Several venues were discussed between Gafoor and the ministry, but no suitable building was found.

At the first sitting of the Tax Appeal Court for 2005-2006, Gafoor spoke of the plan to evict the board from the Hall of Justice.