A Plan by a businessman to try and evade an import duty saw him arrested and taken in Mombasa court by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for fraudulent evasion of import duty worth Sh12,450,327.24 through undervaluation.
A statement from KRA sent to newsrooms said that Mr Robert Muthumbi Muriuki, the accused, who was charged alongside his Landmark Concepts Company Limited was charged that on diverse dates between 12th October 2018 to 2nd November 2019.
"The suspect, being the director of a limited liability company and a limited liability company respectively, presented to the commissioner an invoice number and import declaration form to indicate lower value of EUR 157,000 instead of the correct EUR 720,000 according to the actual Invoice and import declaration form hence failing to remit principal taxes amounting toKES12,450,327.74."
He denied committing the offence before Mombasa magistrate Ms Rita Amwayi and was released on a one million bond with an alternative Sh200, 000 cash bail. She fixed the pretrial of the case on 6th December, 2021.
“Investigations done by the KRA Investigation and Enforcement department, discovered that the Company had imported a Watermaster Classic IV Dredger complete with accessories,” said part of the statement.
“However, after in-depth post clearance analysis and investigations it was established that both the Invoice declaration form (IDF) document and the Invoice used during the declaration were falsified and presented to Customs Officers indicating the free on board price (FOB) of the Machine as EUR157, 500 while the value as per the actual invoice of the plant was established to be EUR 720, 200,” the statement added.
The agency said that was committed to ensure that each person pays their fair share of taxes in order to enable a fair business environment and avoid undue fraudulent competition.
“We continue staying alert to ensure that any form of Tax evasion is detected, disrupted, and curbed with the perpetrators facing the criminal justice system,” the statement added.
*This article was written by Ramadhan Kambi for Uzalendo News. Email: uzalendonews24@gmail.com to submit your story.
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