In a judgment delivered on November 29, 2024, the High Court ruled against Worrell Regis and Company Limited in a claim for judicial review brought against the Minister of Trade and Industry. The company, a registered used car dealer with the Ministry, unsuccessfully challenged the decisions taken by Minister NOT TO:
- approve as from January 01, 2021 used right hand drive private motor vehicles (sedans, station wagons and Sports Utility Vehicles) that were more than three years old from the year of manufacture even where said motor vehicles may have been shipped prior to December 31, 2020;
- revalidate import Licences issued in 2020 to a date in 2021 for used right hand drive private motor vehicles (sedans, station wagons and Sports Utility Vehicles) arriving after December 31 2020 as the expiry date of all Import Licences issued in 2020 was December 31, 2020.
The company argued that it had a legitimate expectation to have its import licence for the clearing of vehicles revalidated by the Ministry. The company contended that the Ministry’s refusal or failure to revalidate its import licence breached the legitimate expectation and was, therefore, unreasonable.
The Ministry notes the following salient points of the Court’s decision:
- the Court was satisfied that the decision made by the Minister of Trade and Industry not to revalidate import licences issued in 2020 for used right hand drive private motor vehicles (sedans, station wagons and Sports Utility Vehicles) arriving after December 31 2020 was expedient considering the fiscal and economic climate at the time of making the decision and also the discretionary power which allowed the Minister under Regulation 4 of the Imports and Exports Control Regulations and Section 10 of the Trade Ordinance, 1958 to grant, revoke and renew licenses for the importation of foreign used vehicles;
- the decision not to revalidate the company’s import licenses was also consistent with the object and purposes of the legislation granting the Ministry such discretion as taken; and the company’s assertion of legitimate expectation failed as it was unable to establish that it had satisfied the conditions outlined in the Government’s policy which required that vehicles be paid in full prior to the October 5, 2020 Budget Statement.
