The governmental levying in

Cleaning tax law suit.

The High Administrative Court-the 1^st circle determined the session of Monday falling on 19/4/2004 to examine the appeal no. 4439 of the legal  year no.49, which has been raised by the association for human rights legal aid against Alexandria governorate because of his resolution to impose cleaning tax and collecting it on monthly electricity bills.

The facts of this law suit returns to 30/9/2001, when the governorate of Alexandria made the resolution no.1172 of the year 2001, and its amendment no. 33 of the year 2002, which imposed the rate of additional and advanced cleaning services, provided that the company of electricity in Alexandria will collect that so-called rate on the monthly electricity bills, the association for human rights legal aid [AHRLA] has faced this concern in due time, and made its law suit no. 4287 of the legal year 56 before the Administrative Court of Alexandria, demanding to stop the execution and canceling of these two resolutions, on the grounds of its breach of many institutional and legal texts as far as we can describe it as illegal levying, the report of state commissioners supported the defense of [AHRLA] and numbered the negative points of the resolutions and the several aspects that breaches the legal texts, the same report referred to that: " It is not allowed, in order to improve a public service, to impose a new tax on the citizens without law text, otherwise it will be an excuse, which allows making a new methods of increasing the dependents of the citizens. As long as there is a stipulated legislative rule to count the cost of public services so there is no way to add such improving of service without consulting of the legislation authority as a respect of the legislative well and the principle of separation of powers. This means that the two resolutions have extorted the authority of legislative and made action ultra vires."

After that the court, in 26/6/2003, has pronounced its acceptance of the law suit as a matter of form, and refusing it as a subject, the association for human rights legal aid made the appeal before the High Administrative Court, and the session  hold in 19/4/2004 before the 1^st circle, and the court made adjournment of the suit to 3^rd July 2004.

 It is worth mentioning that the chairman of state commissioners in Alexandria presented another appeal of the same ruling.

It is unquestionable, as the association [AHRLA] thinks that the ruling will be the first one of its kind, which will affect positively or negatively on the all similar appeals raised by the citizens or by consumer protection associations all over Egypt.

The association calls upon all the persons of the civic society and the associations to stop such daily violations made against the citizens' rights, and to try to decrease the amount of economic burdens which became unbearable, and also to limit the transgression of executive authority of legislative authority.

Support the appeal

Let's declare together:

NO to illegal levying.