The Court of Appeal has upheld the High Court’s order to temporarily suspend the implementation of the Finance Act 2023.
The court said that it will deliver its ruling next week on July 28 2023 and has therefore asked the involved parties to be present then. Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u had moved to court seeking a temporary lift on an order that suspended the implementation of the Finance Act.
The CS had argued that the suspension of the Act could eventually lead to the loss of nearly Ksh211 billion in the Financial Year 2023/24. This, he said, would be a challenge for the implementation of this year’s budget adding that it might lead to the suspension of some projects.
‘’The government of Kenya has to borrow to bridge the gap in order to operate. As there are no saving provisions in the Finance Act 2023, the repealed provisions of the Finance Act 2022 has the effect of affecting revenue collection leading to service disruptions for already budgeted revenue,’’ said CS Njuguna Ndung’u.
Read Also: High Court Freezes the Finance Act 2023
High Court Judge Justice Mugure Thande had on June 30th 2023 stopped the implementation of the Finance Act stating that it could result in unlawful taxation of Kenyans. Following the ruling, the Attorney General moved to the Court of Appeal which he hoped would freeze the order.
Justice Thande however declined to lift the suspension saying that the CS had failed to convince the court and that the balance favored the petitioners.
The High Court then asked Chief Justice Martha Koome to appoint three judges; Judge David Majanja, Lady Justice Christine Meoli and Justice Lawrence Mugambi to preside over the case.
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After the passing of the Finance Bill, now Act, Busia senator Okiya Omtatah, Eliud Matindi, Michael Otieno and Blair Oigoro moved to court to challenge it claiming that it was unconstitutional and that it also posed a threat to human dignity since it would lead to the high cost of essential products.
