The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Thursday expressed confidence in its case that challenges the legality of the 2025/26 National Budget process, stating that it will succeed in its plan to stop the value-added tax (VAT) increase on May 1 as announced by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana.

On Wednesday, the National Assembly adopted the 2025 Fiscal Framework as tabled by Godongwana in March.

DA Federal Council chairperson Helen Zille filed papers in the Western Cape High Court to challenge the legality of the Budget process, seeking an interdict to stop South African Revenue Service from implementing the VAT hike on May 1.

“This interdict request is based on our legal challenge to suspend the Finance Minister's announcement of the VAT hike and overturning Parliament's adoption of the Fiscal Framework,” she said.

The party also seeks to suspend the operation of Godongwana’s announcement of the VAT hike based on the constitutionality of the Minister's power to raise VAT by announcing it in his Budget speech.

“…If this is found to be unconstitutional, Minister Godongwana's announcement on March 12 of the VAT hike would not be binding,” she noted.

She said the party was “absolutely determined” to succeed in its plan to stop the VAT increase on May 1, and believed that it had a strong and solid case.

Zille pointed out that by voting for the Fiscal Framework in Parliament on Wednesday, ActionSA, the Inkatha Freedom Party, and several smaller parties were complicit in hiking VAT for South Africans, which she said would have a “devastating effect” on those already struggling to make ends meet.

“All of those people who are under the mistaken illusion that ActionSA has stopped VAT, are just that deluded. Because in fact the Fiscal Framework as passed by Parliament on Wednesday, that Fiscal Framework includes VAT increase, and the notice put out by Parliament itself says that VAT increase would come in effect on May 1,” she highlighted.

She said the DA had, after weeks of negotiations, put on the table a package of economic reforms that would have enabled the country’s economy to grow and created jobs enabling government to increase its tax package by having far more people employed.

She pointed out that the DA was about to achieve its plan, until the “smaller parties”, which had promised to be the opposition to the ANC and which rejected the Government of National Unity (GNU) when it was set up under “very difficult circumstances,” jumped ship and allowed the ANC to increase VAT without any conditions.

Zille said the DA was not in the GNU for blue lights, cars or ministerial homes or status, but to get South Africa’s economy to grow at the rate it needed to absorb more people into productive employment and reduce poverty.

She said the DA would not play any games that enable the “ANC to retain its profligate spending”.

“The DA has been consistent from the beginning that without meaningful economic reforms to grow the economy, we could not support a VAT hike,” said Zille.