GH - SITOU KOMLAN NANEVIE v. THE COMMISSIONER, C.E.P.S. _ 2 ORS

JUDGMENT

TWUMASI, JA

On the 30th November, 1996, a Togolese national, the respondent herein, brought into Ghana a newly acquired Mercedes Benz valued forty-three thousand deutchmarks (DM 43,000). Intent to saysic in the country for a while, he duly applied for and obtained a three-month licence from the Customs, Excise and Preventive Services of Ghana (CEPS for short).

The respondent instituted legal proceedings against the CEPS and two others on the grounds stated in his Statement of claim that, while the three-month licence was still valid, the CEPS seized the vehicle and sold it to a Lt.-Col. who in turn sold it at a higher price to another person. According to the respondent, CEPS offered him terms of settlement whereby CEPS agreed that he repair a damaged Toyota Lexurus Saloon car and keep it in replacement of the Mercedez Benz. He said he duly implemented the arrangement, yet CEPS refused to release the repaired car to him and also failed to settle the cost of repairs. The defence put up by the appellant was that the respondent breached a condition under the three-month licence which forbad him from permitting a third person to drive the said Mercedez Benz and thereby rendered it liable for forfeiture to the state. The facts of the case further show that the settlement just referred to, was promoted by the trial court upon an application made on behalf of the respondent by his Counsel to the Court which obliged him the required leave to proceed and that this had occurred in the course of the proceedings when the case was ripe for hearing. According to other facts gathered from the record of appeal, when it became clear that CEPS had turned a deaf ear to the demands of the respondent to release the Toyota Lexurus Saloon car and to pay him the expenses incurred in its repair, his Counsel applied to the Court to fix a date for hearing. Upon the orders of the court hearing notices were served upon CEPS to defend the claim but they would not bother to attend court. The hearing therefore commenced without CEPS and judgment was entered in favour of the respondent. The original indorsement on the Writ of Summons was as follows:—

"(a) That the seizure of Mercedez Benz 190D with Registration No. RT 8933n on 28th January 1997 was unlawful.

(b) Failure to release the said vehicle to the Plaintiff amounts to conversion.

(d) An order of injunction against the defendant".

Claim (d) above was in respect of a deman