COURT ORDERS KEROCHE TO PAY KRA 500 MILLION WITHIN 30 DAYS.

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BY SAM ALFAN.

Keroche Breweries Limited has been ordered to pay Kenya Revenue Authority shilling 500 million pending hearing and determination of their appeal.

High Court Commercial judge David Majanja ordered Keroche to 500 million within 30 days pending further directions of the court.

“The Appellant (Keroche Breweries Limited) shall pay Kenya Revenue Authority shilling 500, 000,000 million within 30 days”, ordered the judge. 

This is after KRA filed an affidavit seeking to compel Keroche Breweries to pay up money owed to it over Vienna Ice Vodka pending appeal the company lodged last week.

The agency has urged the court not to hesitate to order Keroche to immediately pay principal taxes or make proposals to KRA on when to settle the tax pending hearing of substantive appeal to save each other cost.

Ontweka further submitted that once the Tax Appeals Tribunal made the decision in KRA’s favor, the tax  becomes collectable immediately.

KRA lawyer David Ontweka told the court Keroche Breweries should pay the 9 billion taxes as determined by the Tax Appeals Tribunal because some of the taxes had been litigated for over 14 years. 

“It is in the interest of justice Keroche breweries to pay the said assessed taxes as the said sum continues to accumulate penalties and interests,” Ontweka added.

The agency reiterated in absence of stay orders staying enforcement from the Tribunal , the agency was at liberty to proceed to recover the taxes as provide under Tax Procedure Act, 2015. This include issuing of agency notices as provided under section 42 of the Tax Procedures Act to the Appellant’s bankers and other persons holding money on behalf of the Taxpayer.

Keroche through Kiragu Kimani opposed the taxman application saying there was no urgency to enforce the  collection  since Keroche is excersing it’s right appeal.

On Friday, High Court Judge David Majanja suspended the implementation of tax appeals tribunal judgment to collect 9 billion tax that could plunge Keroche into financial crisis.

The court further suspended a notice by KRA to Equity Bank to freeze Keroche’s bank accounts to recover the alleged taxes amounting to over 9 billion.

In affidavit filed by Kenya Revenue Authority large taxpayers office (LTO) division chief manager Francis Muiruri, said Keroche has enjoy stay of execution since the matter was filed at the tax tribunal in 2015 and 2017 respectively for a period of over three years and there is no reason to be allowed for a further uncertainty period which exposes the risk of KRA not recovering the tax.

“The fact that the tribunal was out with its staff was not a bar or reason for Keroche making representations to KRA on how to settle tax from March 9 to March 11,2020 when the agency notice was issued”, Say’s Muiruri.

Muiruri adds that the company owned by Tabitha Mukami Karanja should now than be forthright and face the reality taxation is here to stay and no individual or enterprise can avoid to shoulder the burden of with the rest of the citizenry and none will be treated differently from set in the process.

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