Court puts KRA on spot over treatment of Pakistani businessmen
Times Tower in Nairobi, the headquarters of the Kenya Revenue Authority.
The High Court has put the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on the spot over its treatment of three Pakistan businessmen, who must seek a court order every time they want to renew their licences.
Justice Eric Ogola said there is evidence that every time Bolpak Trading Company Ltd directors Saqib Shahbaz, Najam Akhlaq and Shereza Shahbaz Khan want to renew their licences they have to file a case.
“The petitioners are in court virtually every year. This is a serious indictment of KRA and its responsible officers,” said Justice Ogola in a judgment that also awarded the trio Sh100,000 each as general damages for the violation of their rights.
The businessmen had accused KRA of writing a letter to immigration officials urging them to prohibit the three from leaving Kenya because of an alleged Sh106.9 million tax liability.
The court also ruled that the travel prohibition was a violation of the Constitution and quashed it.
Justice Ogola noted that KRA had not furnished the court with the findings of its investigations into the alleged tax evasion.
The court said no complaint was brought against the businessmen either orally or in writing to explain the basis of the investigations and that there was no evidence of demands for the alleged taxes due.
The businessmen argued in their petition that because no demand notice had been issued to them, the tax bill was not known or determined and no security was demanded.
Through lawyer Gikandi Ngibuini, the businessmen, who also named the Attorney-General as a respondent, argued that it was improper for KRA to inform the Director of Immigration Services that they owed tax arrears.
Mr Ngibuini argued that the petitioners had been paying their taxes.
KRA had told the court that an audit of the petitioners’ company had revealed that it did not file income tax returns for 2017 and 2018.
The taxman also told the court that the businessmen had engaged in under-declarations of VAT sales in 2014, 2015 and 2018, had declared less amounts in Pay As You Earn and had over-claimed input from VAT suppliers.
