The two parties have approached the Western Cape High Court, seeking to suspend the fiscal framework report that paved the way for the 2025 budget tabled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

The EFF and DA argue that the VAT increase will disproportionately harm businesses, exacerbate poverty, and lead to job losses, particularly affecting SA's most vulnerable citizens.

Advocate Thembeka Ngcukaitobi, representing the EFF, has submitted that the fiscal framework report contains significant irregularities, rendering the process flawed.

Ngcukaitobi emphasised the constitutional implications of the VAT hike, describing it as "substantively unconstitutional" and urging the court to set aside the adoption of the fiscal framework. He further criticised the procedural legality of the report, arguing that it was adopted under unprocedural grounds.

--SABC/ChannelAfrica--