The Rights of the Ordinary Citizen to Be Able To Access the Courts Freely and Unhindered:

to TIN or Not to TIN?

CENTRE FOR JUVENILE DELIQUENCY (PLAINTIFF)

vs.
GHANA REVENUE AUTHORITY (1ST DEFENDANT)
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL (2ND DEFENDANT)
(SUPREME COURT ACCRA)

WRIT N0.J1/61/2018 DATE 30th JULY 2018

Introduction:

In the matter between the Centre for Juvenile Delinquency a Ghanaian Non-governmental Organization,
the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) whose responsibility it is to Administer and collect the country’s
revenue and the Attorney General (AG) being the principal advisor to the Government.

The matter at hand relates to the provisions of the Revenue Administration Act 2016, (Act 915) which prevents
persons from filing a case with the courts or conduct any official business with them unless that person
quotes the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) issued by the Authority.

A number of issues were raised by the Parties and addressed by the Supreme Court, these issues and the
decision of the Supreme Court shall form the basis of this article.

According to the GRA, the TIN is a unique identification number issued to taxpayers for official transactions
in Ghana.

The TIN seeks to serve as an identification pin for each individual’s contribution of tax in Ghana and is
expected to broaden the country's revenue whiles increasing developmental projects which will in the long
run, help the country in its financial growth.
Apart from paying taxes, the TIN is used for other services such as importing goods into the country,
registering a business or land.
Is a tax identification number a prerequisite to the full enjoyment of fundamental human rights which
includes the right of access to the courts?
A cardinal principle of the rule of law is equality before the law thus the constitution guarantees all persons
equality before the Law. This right includes access to courts in order to prosecute or defend a claim or a
violation of a right. This right also requires that there be an adequate, effective and meaningful access.
In every action whether civil or criminal every person in Ghana, citizen or non- citizens with a cause of action
or a criminal complaint, has access to all courts in Ghana simply by complying with the rules of procedure
applicable to each court. There is no prior statutory restraint for a form of identity before one can access all
courts.
The concept of access to justice include the freedom to be able to walk into the court and initiate a cause of
action as well as the ability to participate in proceeding by means of a fair trial.
In the instance, enforcing the provisions requiring a person or persons to be in possession of a TIN before
he shall be permitted to file a case in court will deprive a majority of people of their right to exercise their
fundamental human rights to access justice which is not only against the spirit and tenets of the 1992
constitution but also against international conventions to which Ghana as a truly constitutional and
democratic state is committed.
Does the requirement of TIN violate the rights of juveniles of access to courts and justice in criminal
proceedings?
The importance of the right of access to the courts is the fact that it enables every person to enjoy all other
fundamental human rights and freedoms enshrined in chapter 5 of the 19992 constitution. It also enables
people who are more vulnerable to hardships, discrimination and general human rights abuses to access
and enforce their absolute human rights.
It must be noted that any additional impediment that prevents a person from invoking the jurisdiction of the
courts thus resulting in the denial of justice is wholly unaccepted.
Therefore, the provision requiring that a juvenile can only access the courts by a next friend being an adult
in possession of a TIN before a court process can be filed, is overboard and goes to affect the rights of the
juvenile to access justice in both criminal and civil cases.
In summary, there is the need to be able to strike a balance between the obligation of citizens to pay taxes
and the need to encourage free access to the law courts which is one of the basic characteristics of
constitutional democracy where the rule of law is prevalent and serves as a benchmark to measure good
governance and accountability in a country through judicial review.
In other words, there is no requirement that a person be in possession or quote a TIN before he shall be
permitted to file a process in Court.

Signed:
M.Taylor
MacCarthy&Associates
08 August 2019

Acknowledgement
https://gra.gov.gh/index.php/tin/get-a-tin/
www.dennislawgh.com