Dubai Firm To Pay Over Ksh 2B Tax After Losing Court Battle with KRA

A Dubai based firm through its affiliate company, Suzan General Trading JLT, is set to pay taxes due amounting to Ksh 2,296,210,133 after the court ruled in favour of Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA).

Suzan had filed a case with the High Court in Nairobi seeking orders to stop KRA from collecting KShs 2.3 billion in tax debts.

However, on Monday, Justice Pauline Nyamweya ruled in favour of KRA and struck out a Judicial Review filed on July 28, 2018, by the United Arab Emirates registered firm, Suzan General Trading JLT.

Suzan General Trading JLT also sought to stop KRA from interfering with its business operations because of the debts owed to KRA by Diplomatic Duty-Free Limited(DDF) and an order of the court directing KRA to lift the proclamation dated July 9, 2018, issued by Keynesian Auctioneers in respect to its property.

KRA’s position on the case was that DDF incurred import duty taxes which were demanded on August 5, 2013,  and reminders sent on September 25, 2013, which went unacted upon.

Suzan Duty-Free contested the proclamation notice and argued that the same was unreasonable and that the goods that were proclaimed belonged to it and not DDF.

Suzan Duty stated that KRA was illegally and unlawfully causing it to pay debts that were for DDF that is a distinct entity.

In arriving at the decision, the Court found that the case ought to have been determined by the Tax Appeal Tribunal.

Thus, the Court held that the issues and reasons why the case was brought before Court were not capable of being resolved by way of judicial review proceedings and accordingly struck out the suit with no orders as to costs.

KRA is therefore at liberty to proceed and enforce the collection of the taxes due.

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