Who is popular today?

LOCAL cement importer Rock Hard Distributors (RHTT) and its St Lucia-based parent company have taken their challenge against a 50 per cent increase in import duties on cement to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
Rock Hard has applied for special leave to start proceedings against the Government of TT to have reviewed the decision of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) of Caricom to grant TT’s request to suspend the Common External Tariff (CET) of five per cent on imports of other hydraulic cement and impose the 50 per cent rate, starting January 1.
It has also applied for the hearing of the originating application to be expedited and asked for an interim injunction to restrain TT from imposing the new rate.
Matters filed in the CCJ’s originating jurisdiction allow the court to interpret the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which established Caricom.
Rock Hard filed a similar challenge in the High Court, which is expected to be heard later this month.
CCJ judges Jacob Wit, Winston Anderson and Maureen Rajnauth-Lee are presiding over Rock Hard’s application, and set strict timelines for filing submissions on the injunction application before next Thursday’s hearing.
The judges also ordered the local cement manufacturer, Trinidad Cement Ltd (TCL), to be served with the proceedings and respond to Rock Hard’s interim relief application.
[caption id="attachment_865493" align="alignnone" width="1024"] In this file photo, employee Jose Lopez throws out a bag of Rock Hard cement to mix at Second Crossing Hardware, Bon Air Gardens, Arouca on Saturday. PHOTO BY AYANNA KINSALE -[/caption]
In preliminary submissions in support of the injunction application, the distributor’s lead counsel Ian Benjamin, SC, argued that if the TT Government were not restrained from imposing the 50 per cent import duty, this would have a deleterious effect on the viability and sustainability of the companies he represented.
He said with a shipment expected later this month or early March, if Hard Rock were forced to pay the new duties, this could lead to the destruction of its business.
“We have already paid the punishing level of duty for a January 23 shipment,” he said, adding that the company could find itself with cement at a price that would make it unsellable.
In opposition to the interim relief application, Senior Counsel Deborah Peake, SC, who appeared for the TT Government and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, said her clients were willing not to oppose the special leave application or one for an expedited hearing, but any interim injunction would not only affect TCL, but also nullify government’s decision and allow Rock Hard to bring in cement with zero per cent tax.
“They want to move from 35 per cent in January 2020 to zero in 2021. That is an extreme position, in a governmental point of view. We are just trying to raise revenue in pandemic times, and it will be an extreme measure for the local manufacturer also struggling to maintain its position in pandemic times,” she said.
Caricom’s general counsel Corlita Babb-Schaeffer submitted that COTED was also likely to be affected by the interim measure requested, since it would expose Caricom to liability if TCL decided to take legal action for a legitimate expectation that a competitive rate would be applied. She explained that COTED has not altered the rate to protect local production, which means if the court grants the interim measure not to apply the rate, TCL can seek damages against the regional body if a competing rate is not applied.
In its lawsuit against the ministry in the High Court, Rock Hard has argued that increasing import duties and introducing a quota on imported cement will cripple its operations.
In a previous decision, in April 2019 the CCJ settled the import tax dispute on cement, ruling that the regional tax payable on “other hydraulic cement” that Rock Hard imported from Turkey should be five per cent.
Also appearing for Rock Hard were attorneys Jagdeo Singh, Justin Phelps and Karina Singh. Appearing for the Government were Tamara Toolsie and Brent James.
The Attorney General of St Lucia had a watching brief in the proceedings.
The post Rock Hard goes to CCJ with cement tax increase appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.