The applicant, a registered legal practitioner in Zimbabwe, was granted a study permit on 20 January 2009 to pursue a masters degree in Environmental Management at University of Cape Town, South Africa. While in South Africa, he purchased a VW Polo motor vehicle. On 8 January 2011, upon returning to Zimbabwe from South Africa, he was intercepted at Beitbridge Border Post by Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) officers who impounded his vehicle. The applicant had not paid import duty as he claimed entitlement to an immigrant rebate as a returning resident under section 105 of the Customs and Excise (General) Regulations 2001 (SI 154/2001). The vehicle remained detained with storage charges of $10 per day accumulating. On 17 January 2010, the applicant made written representations to ZIMRA. ZIMRA responded on 23 January 2011 denying the rebate application for lack of proof of successful completion of studies as required by section 102 of the Customs and Excise Act. The applicant submitted a document showing results for 5 subjects but not a degree transcript, claiming the university withheld it due to unpaid school fees.
The application was dismissed with costs for want of urgency.
For an urgent application to succeed, the applicant must demonstrate with factual support that irreparable harm will be suffered if the matter is not heard urgently. Mere prejudice or inconvenience does not constitute urgency. The critical test is whether the matter can wait for ordinary court process. A certificate of urgency must show that the certifying legal practitioner applied his mind to the facts and the legal requirements for urgency. Bald assertions of irreparable harm without supporting facts are insufficient to justify hearing a matter on an urgent basis. The element of harm should not be confused with urgency.
The court noted that there is a close relationship between urgency and irreparable harm. The court also observed that where there is nothing to suggest that the legal practitioner applied his mind before certifying the matter as urgent, a conclusion may be drawn that he acted dishonestly. The court commented that the storage charge being levied could potentially be waived depending on the merits of the rebate claim, and that the respondent might still release the vehicle without payment of storage charges. The court indicated that the second point in limine regarding incompetence of interim relief did not need to be considered since the matter failed on the first hurdle of urgency.
This case reinforces the strict requirements for urgent applications in Zimbabwean law, particularly the necessity to establish irreparable harm and demonstrate that the matter cannot wait for ordinary procedure. It emphasizes the duty of legal practitioners to properly apply their minds when certifying matters as urgent and clarifies that mere prejudice or inconvenience does not constitute urgency. The case also illustrates the interpretation and application of sections 102 and 105 of the Customs and Excise Act regarding immigrant rebates, specifically the requirement for proof of successful completion of studies for returning residents.