Finance Act 2023: Focus on the Housing Levy

Kenya unveils Carbon Market Regulations

The gazettement of the Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulations, 2024 (Regulations) on 17 May 2024, has set the stage for the regulatory oversight of carbon project development and management in Kenya. The Regulations have been enacted following a legal reform process that began with the amendment of the Climate Change Act, 2016 (Act) in 2023 to explicitly address carbon market concerns, and signal Kenya’s readiness to intensify efforts to take on opportunities presented by the global carbon markets. The Regulations introduce the key provisions outlined below. 

Resisting an enrichment claim on the basis of non-enrichment

In the recent case of Wamjay Holdings Investments (Pty) Ltd v Auckland Park Theological Seminary (2022/9895) ZAGPJHC 1098; 1 All SA 298 (GJ); 2024 (3) SA 614 (GJ) (2 October 2023), the requirement that a plaintiff must prove that a defendant must have been enriched to succeed with a claim for unjustified enrichment wasdebated.  

Only eat your share of the baguette: An analysis of the recent High Court decision on withholding tax on management and professional fees under the Kenya-France DTA

On 4 July 2024, the High Court in Commissioner of Domestic Taxes v Total Kenya Limited (Income Tax Appeal E044 of 2021) determined that withholding tax on management and professional fees is not payable in Kenya under the Kenya-France Double Tax Agreement (DTA). This decision arises from an appeal lodged before it by the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes, following a similar finding by the Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) in TAT Appeal 151 of 2016 (Consolidated with Tax Appeal 16 of 2017).

To institute or not to institute liquidation proceedings (that is the question)

It is a well-established principle in our law that insolvency/liquidation proceedings are not meant to be used for the recovery of a debt – the courts regard this as an abuse of (legal) process. Rather, the purpose of insolvency proceedings, as per Trengove AJ in Investec Bank Ltd and Another v Mutemeri and Another (O9/22247) ZAGPJHC 64 is “ to bring about a convergence of the claims in an insolvent estate to ensure that it is wound up in an orderly fashion and that creditors are treated equally ”.

Positive disruptors in African mining: Technology, AI and critical minerals for Africa's industrialisation

Breaking barriers: Navigating nuance in employment equity

In the matter of Solidarity OBO Erasmus v Eskom Holdings SOC LTD (C1001/18) ZALCCT 18 (24 May 2024) the applicant, Erasmus, had been employed by the respondent, Eskom, since 1988. In 2004, Erasmus was promoted to project manager, and in 2017, he was transferred to his current position as the senior advisor outage co-ordinator.