SAMPSON OKYERE & 5 ORS vs. GHANA REVENUE AUTHORITY [2016]DLCA6951

Date	2016-01-21
Suit No.	CIVIL APPEAL NO: H1/217/2015
Citation No.	[2016]DLCA6951

MARFUL-SAU JA (PRESIDING)

ADUAMA OSEI JA

TANKO AMADU JA

MICHAEL DONKOR FOR PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS

ODARTEY LAMPTEY FOR DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT

[2016]DLCA6951
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													<main id="main" class="content" style="min-height: 60rem" >SAMPSON OKYERE &amp; 5 ORS<o:p></o:p>(PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS)<o:p></o:p>vs.<o:p></o:p>GHANA REVENUE AUTHORITY<o:p></o:p>(DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT)<o:p></o:p>[COURT
OF APPEAL, ACCRA]<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">

<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
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padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in">CIVIL APPEAL NO: H1/217/2015 &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; DATE: 21ST JANUARY, 2016<o:p></o:p>

</div>COUNSEL:<o:p></o:p>MICHAEL
DONKOR FOR PLAINTIFFS/APPELLANTS<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;ODARTEY LAMPTEY FOR DEFENDANT/RESPONDENT<o:p></o:p><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border-top:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
115%;border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">CORAM: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:
115%;border:none;mso-border-top-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;mso-border-bottom-alt:
solid windowtext 1.5pt;padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in">MARFUL-SAU
JA (PRESIDING), ADUAMA OSEI JA, TANKO AMADU JA<o:p></o:p>

</div><div style="mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-bottom:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;
text-align:center;line-height:115%;border:none;mso-border-bottom-alt:solid windowtext 1.5pt;
padding:0in;mso-padding-alt:0in 0in 1.0pt 0in;mso-border-between:1.5pt solid windowtext;
mso-padding-between:1.0pt">JUDGMENT<o:p></o:p>

</div>ADUAMA
OSEI,:<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;In this judgment, the Plaintiffs/Appellants
are referred to as "the Plaintiffs"
and the Defendant/Respondent is referred to as "the Defendant".<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;In their writ of summons issued in the Labour
Division of the High Court, Accra, on the 9th of December, 2011, the Plaintiffs
sought the following reliefs against the Defendant: <o:p></o:p>"a. A declaration that the
dismissal of the Plaintiffs by the Defendant on May 18th, 2011 is wrongful;<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;"b. Payment in full of the salaries and
allowances due the Plaintiffs from May 18th, 2011 to date of judgment with
interest thereon; <o:p></o:p>"c. Damages for wrongful
dismissal;<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;"d. Reinstatement of the Plaintiffs to
the positions that they held prior to their wrongful dismissal; <o:p></o:p>"e. An order prohibiting the
Defendant from victimising the Plaintiffs upon their reinstatement; and <o:p></o:p>"f. Costs, including lawyers'
fees".<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The Defendant is an authority established
under the Ghana Revenue Authority Act, 2009 (Act 791), charged, among other
things, with the administration of taxes. Until the 18th of May, 2011, the
Plaintiffs were employees of the Defendant authority. By its letter to the
Plaintiffs dated the 18th of May, 2011, however, the Defendant dismissed the
Plaintiffs from its employment for alleged misconduct.<o:p></o:p>&nbsp;The dismissal of the Plaintiffs followed the
Defendant's investigation into the appearance of the Plaintiffs in a video footage
produced by one Anas Aremeyaw Anas, captioned "Enemies of the Nation", in circumstances which suggested
that the Plaintiffs had solicited for or collected bribes from importers at the
port of Tema. <o:p></o:p>In
the statement of claim which accompanied their writ of summons, the Plaintiffs
contended that the video in which they appeared to be soliciting for and
collecting bribes was not authentic, that their dismissal was in breach of the
rules of natural justice and based on evidence gathered through illegal means,
deception and entrapment, and that the proceedings that culminated in their
dismissal violated their rights to administrative justice and did not comply
with the requirements imposed by law. <o:p></o:p>The
Defendant authority, on the other hand, contended in their statement of defence
that the video footage was authentic, and alleged that the Plaintiffs had, in
the course of its investigations into the disclosures in the footage, admitted
receiving or collecting money, which they described as "appreciation monies". Further, the Defendant denied that
the Plaintiffs had been entrapped or had otherwise been induced or tempted to
receive monies which, as the Defendant contended, were received by the
Plaintiffs while they were "on the
job" and therefore amounted to illegal conduct on their part. The
Defendant again contended that the proceedings that culminated in the
Plaintiffs' dismissal were carried out in accordance with its disciplinary
procedure and were therefore lawful. It denied that the Plaintiffs were entitled
to the reliefs claimed by them or any relief at all.<o:p></o:p>