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Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarding Association v Kampala Capital City Authority & Another (MISCELLANEOUS CAUSE NPO. 439 OF 2017)

High Court · [2020] UGHCCD 86 · 2020 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for judicial review seeking certiorari and prohibition to quash statutory instrument requiring clearing and forwarding firms to obtain additional trading licenses
Decision
Statutory instrument requiring additional licensing of clearing and forwarding firms quashed and its enforcement prohibited

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that the Minister of Trade acted ultra vires in amending the schedule to the Trade Licensing Act to include clearing and forwarding firms, which were already licensed under the East African Customs Management Act 2004. The amendment requiring a second license amounted to illegal double taxation and conflicted with specific legislation. Where general and specific legislation conflict, the specific legislation prevails. Orders of certiorari and prohibition granted quashing and restraining enforcement of item 14 of the statutory instrument.

Outcome

Statutory instrument requiring additional licensing of clearing and forwarding firms quashed and its enforcement prohibited

Facts

The applicant association represented clearing and forwarding firms licensed under the East African Customs Management Act 2004. In January 2017, the Minister of Trade issued Statutory Instrument No. 2 of 2017 amending the schedule to the Trade Licensing Act to include clearing and forwarding firms among businesses required to obtain trading licenses from municipal town clerks and pay licensing dues. The applicant challenged this on grounds it amounted to double licensing and taxation for firms already licensed under specific legislation. The application was filed in December 2017, outside the three-month time limit, but sought extension of time. The first respondent implemented the licensing requirement and opposed the application as time-barred and without merit.

Issues

  1. Whether time should be extended in relation to the filing of this application by the applicant.
  2. Whether the application raises any grounds for judicial review.
  3. Whether the applicant is entitled to the remedies sought in this application.

Orders

  • An order of certiorari is issued quashing item 14 (in Part C) of the Trade Licensing (Amendment of Schedule) Instrument No. 2 of 2017 which purport to require clearing and forwarding firms who are already licensed annually to carry on their trade by the East African Customs Management Act, 2004 and payment of dues in respect of both to now seek a further license to trade from the town clerk of a municipal council and if granted, pay further licensing dues in respect thereof.
  • An order of prohibition is issued restraining and preventing item 14 of the Trade (Licensing) (Amendment of Schedule) Instrument No. 2 of 2017 from taking effect and prohibiting the respondents or their agents from enforcing the said Trade License provisions against clearing and forwarding firms.
  • Application allowed.
  • No order as to costs.

Rules and key headnotes

Judicial Review — Extension of Time — Good Reason — Interest of Justice
Where an application for judicial review is filed out of time but seeks to prevent illegality affecting several individuals through an association representing their collective interests, the court has discretion to extend time for filing in the interest of justice without undue regard to technicalities if good reason is shown.
Judicial Review — Grounds — Illegality — Ultra Vires Delegated Legislation
A statutory instrument made under delegated powers that conflicts with or travels beyond the scope of the enabling Act or is inconsistent with other existing legislation may be challenged on grounds of illegality in judicial review proceedings.
Statutory Interpretation — Conflict Between Statutes — Specific versus General Legislation
Where two pieces of legislation conflict, specific legislation on a particular subject matter takes precedence over general legislation covering the same area. The principle generaliabus specialia derogant applies: general things do not derogate from special things.
Tax Law — Double Taxation — Licensing Fees — Illegality
Requiring a business entity to obtain two separate licenses and pay two sets of licensing fees for the same trade or profession, one under specific sectoral legislation and another under general municipal licensing laws, constitutes illegal and irrational double taxation.
Administrative Law — Delegated Legislation — Limits of Rule-Making Power
The conferment of rule-making power by an Act does not enable the rule-making authority to make rules that travel beyond the scope of the enabling Act, are inconsistent therewith, repugnant thereto, or conflict with other existing legislation. Courts reviewing delegated legislation concern themselves only with whether it falls within the scope of the parent Act and does not conflict with other laws, not with the merits or wisdom of the underlying policy.

Legislation cited (15)

Cases cited (13)

  • Mugumya IP v Attorney General (Miscellaneous Cause No. 116 of 2015)
  • Hilton v Sutton Steam Laundry [1946] 1 KB 61
  • Okoth Umaru and 3 Others v Busia Municipal Council and 3 Others (Miscellaneous Cause No. 12 of 2016)
  • Nampogo Robert and Another v Attorney General (Miscellaneous Cause No. 120 of 2008)
  • Moses Ssemakula Kazibwe v James Ssenyondo (Miscellaneous Application No. 108 of 2008)
  • NC Bank of Uganda Ltd and 24 Others v KCCA and Attorney General (Miscellaneous Cause No. 2 of 2018)
  • Amrit Goyal v Hari Chand Goyal (Commercial Court Civil Suit No. 432 of 2001)
  • Ignatius Loyola Malungu v Inspector General of Government (Miscellaneous Cause No. 59 of 2016)
  • Kampala Private Medical Professionals Association v Attorney General and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 552 of 2017)
  • Stanbic Bank of Uganda Ltd and Others v Attorney General (Miscellaneous Application No. 645 of 2011)
  • Uganda Law Society v Kampala Capital City Authority and Attorney General (Miscellaneous Cause No. 243 of 2017)
  • I.R.C v National Federation of Self-Employed and Small Businesses [1981] 2 All ER 93
  • Eaton Towers Uganda Limited v Attorney General and Jinja Municipal Council (Miscellaneous Cause No. 84 of 2019)

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Uganda Clearing Industry and Forwarding Association v Kampala Capital City Authority & Another (MISCELLANEOUS CAUSE NPO. 439 OF 2017) [2020] UGHCCD 86 (8 May 2020)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.