By Thebe Mabanga
Parliament has begun the process of cleaning the VAT and budget cancellation by confirming the suspension of the VAT hike that was due to kick in on Thursday.
The committee meeting that was to process the Money and Rates Bill that was to precede the VAT hike has also been cancelled.
The suspension of the hike is because of an order handed down by the Western Cape High Court on Sunday.
The court order also set aside the 2025 Fiscal Framework and Revenue Proposals that were adopted by Parliament at the beginning of April before being successfully challenged by the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
“The court order thus ensured legal certainty and prevented the previously announced VAT increase from automatically taking effect on 1 May,” Parliament said in a statement
But Parliament does not admit to any procedural misstep in reaching the settlement that led to the court order.
“Parliament did not admit to any procedural defect,” the legislature said in its statement.
The EFF has welcomed the cancellation of the meeting of the Standing Committee on Finance, reiterating its long-held stance that the withdrawal of the 2025 Appropriation Bill and Division of Revenue Bill renders the processing of the Money Bill illegitimate.
“We reiterate that Parliament must be a custodian of the law and not an instrument of political expediency.” the EFF said.
“The cancellation of the meeting is a necessary and welcome step toward restoring constitutional compliance and upholding the rule of law within Parliament.”
The party has now called for vigilance from all MPs, irrespective of party affiliation, in monitoring every step of resetting the budget process.
“No shortcuts, no irregularities and no abuse of parliamentary procedure can be tolerated.”
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana and National Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse, both of whom the EFF have called to resign, will now give the new steps and timeline to be followed in tabling the new budget.
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