by Linda Straker
- Order published in 27 January 2023 Government Gazette with 1 February 2023 date of effect
- A gazetted order cannot be changed by word of mouth
- Another order must be published to cancel and supersede the first order
The Dickon Mitchell administration seems to have rescinded its decision to delay the enforcement of the regulations that will cause an increase in refined cane sugar, alcoholic and tobacco products by one month.
The Orders for enforcing the amendments to the various regulation were published in the 27 January 2023 edition of the Government Gazette, outlining that the date of effect will be 1 February 2023.
On 24 January 2023 during a scheduled post-cabinet briefing Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell announced that the enforcement of the changes to these regulations will instead come into effect on 1 March. “In relation to the tax on the sugary drinks we are going to push back the date for this to become effective from the 01 March rather than 01 February because we need the additional time to make sure that the items are clearly identified, clearly classified and clearly published and that there is no ambiguity,” said Mitchell who is also the Minister for Finance.
He said that his Administration which was elected on 23 June 2022 wants to have more discussions with the stakeholders who will be directly affected. “We felt we needed that additional time to do so and to communicate with the stakeholders who will be impacted by this measure,” he said.
Providing more justification for the delay of the excise tax implementation, Prime Minister Mitchell who presented a resolution for the increase to the Parliament Friday, 20 January said that the delay for enforcement is to identify the list of products that will be affected. “As it relates to the Excise Tax on alcohol and cigarettes we are also going to push the date back to 01 March, so that we can clearly identify all of the alcoholic items, the fact that the Excise Act was passed a long time ago and what you called tobacco when it was passed is not necessarily what you may call tobacco today,” he said.
“There are new products, for example, e-cigarettes and so on which are now on the market, and we need to make sure that we address those nuisances as part of the process, so we need the additional time to address it and so we will push the date back to 1 March,” he said.
- SR&O No. 3 of 2023: The Excise Tax Order 2023 will cause an increase in the price of alcoholic products such as beer, wine, whiskey, and rubbing alcohol
- SR&O No. 6 of 2023: The Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 will among other things see the inclusion of refined cane sugar as a VAT appliable product
- SR&O No. 7 of 2023: The Value Added Tax (Amendment of Third and Fourth Schedules) Order, 2023 will see, among other things see the removal of a number of products from the VAT list such as cooking oil, toothpaste, children and adults diapers, bathing soaps, peas and beans
Dickon Mitchell signed all the SR&Os in his capacity as Minister for Finance.
On Monday, 30 January 2023 an email was sent to the email addresses of Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, and Press Secretary Tahera Carter seeking an explanation for the inconsistency in the date. As of publishing this news item, there was no response to the email for none of the government officials as of publishing this story.
Various lawyers have explained that a gazetted order cannot be changed by word of mouth. Another order must be published to cancel and supersede the first order.
“Even if the Prime Minister said there is a change to the date, that new date must be published in the Gazette. In the absence of an order cancelling the 27 January Order, it means that the law goes into effect on 1 February,” said one legal luminary who explained that the cancellation order must be done before 1 February 2023.
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