2015
COURT OF APPEAL
GHANA
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case involves the appellant's appeal against the dismissal of his claims by the trial court regarding the seizure and auction of his IVECO Articulated Head by customs officials. The appellant argued procedural and substantial errors, including non-compliance with statutory and constitutional requirements by the customs officials. The appellate court undertook a comprehensive review of the evidence, legal principles, and administrative actions, finding numerous instances of procedural unfairness and a violation of the appellant's rights. The court reversed the trial court's judgment in favor of the appellant, emphasizing the need for administrative bodies to adhere to fairness, reasonableness, and due process.
A.M. DOMAKYAAREH (MRS), J.A.
1. In this case, we consider an appeal against the judgment of the High Court, Sunyani dated 30th March 2011. In the said judgment, the trial court dismissed the plaintiff/appellant’s action and entered judgment in favour of the defendant/respondent.
2. THE FACTS OF THE CASE:
Per his Statement of Claim, the appellant herein, then plaintiff in the trial court, stated that he purchased an IVECO Articulated Head from one burger by name Bismark Asamoah who said he imported the Articulated Head from Germany. The said Bismark Asamoah caused the Driver and Vehicle Licencing Authority (DVLA) to register the Articulated Head which came to bear the registration number AS 7952 W. The then plaintiff went on to say that after diligently conducting a search at the DVLA office, he purchased the said Articulated Head following which a change of ownership was effected from the vendor’s name to his name on DVLA Form C in November 2005. The plaintiff said he then caused expensive and extensive repairs to be made on the Articulated Head and put same to commercial use. He averred that on 24th November 2006, officers of the defendant/respondent Institution at Sunyani seized the Articulated Truck and issued him with a Notice of Seizure on the ground that Bismark Asamoah the vendor had not paid the customs duties on the Articulator Head. The plaintiff said he handed over all the documents on the Articulated Head to the officers of the defendant and upon verification they confirmed that the appropriate customs duties on the vehicle had not been paid. The plaintiff said he applied on 24th November 2006 for restoration of the seized vehicle with an undertaking to pay the requisite customs duty and penalty. The plaintiff further averred that upon several months of persistence and upon the making of a repeat application on 10th October 2007, he was issued with an Appraisal Report with an assessed value of GH¢7,922.00 inclusive of penalty. The plaintiff averred that he immediately went to the Sunyani office of the defendant to pay only to be told that his truck had been auctioned. The plaintiff therefore instituted action against the defendant claiming various reliefs including an order of recovery of the IVECO Articulated Head on the grounds that the manner in which the defendant disposed of his vehicle was unconstitutional and a violation of his fundamental right to his property.
3. The defendant’s case per the Statement of Defence was rather terse