In Dar es Salaam. The High Court’s Commercial Division has dismissed a lawsuit in which East Coast Oil and Fats Limited, a producer of edible oils, fats, and soaps, sought a refund of Sh6.7 billion in additional customs import duties on palm oil that it had already paid.
The Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) and the Attorney General (AG) were successful in convincing the court that the oil imported from Indonesia was actually refined rather than crude oil as had been previously claimed.
In 2017, East Coat filed a lawsuit against TBS and the AG, claiming that the second test conducted by TBS and the ensuing report were invalid and inaccurate.
It had asked for a ruling that the second report on the oil imported on MT PYSX Delta was incorrect since it labeled the import as refined palm olein rather than crude.
In addition to the Sh4.4 billion it has already paid the taxman, the corporation has requested a ruling that it is entitled to a return of Sh6.7 billion in allegedly overpaid import duty.
The oil business was requested to attend the re-testing of the samples but declined, according to the testimony given in court.
East Coast argued that because it was happy with the results of the initial testing, it was unable to attend the retesting.
In order to move forward with the exercise, TBS asked its food laboratory to retest the samples. The product was purified, bleached, and deodarized, according to the study. Officials from TBS came to the conclusion that the shipment was “Not crude palm olein.”
TRA was informed of the test report so that relevant action could be taken. The business objected to the retesting and demanded a correction, but in vain.
The witness claimed that when TBS carried out the second testing of the import, she did it arbitrarily and without any justification.
