This archive report was first published on 26 June 2020.
June 26, 2020, marked the beginning of a tax dispute between a gemstones mining firm associated with former Machakos senator Johnstone Muthama and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA). The dispute revolves around the payment of import duty amounting to Sh600,000.
The KRA Commissioner-General accuses Rockland Kenya Limited of mis-declaring imported goods to pay less import duty. The dispute started in March 2019 when the company imported a consignment of materials related to mining activities and presented its documents for verification by the Customs Department.
According to court papers, the importer declared only one item, described as part of industrial laboratory electric furnaces and ovens, in its declaration form. However, a further verification and re-assessment of the imported goods by KRA officers revealed that at least five items had been declared as one.
A KRA officer, Mr Joackim Mwawasi, stated that the five undeclared items included ceramic bricks, disks, ceramic tubes, adhesives, and heating elements among others. The company moved to court seeking orders for the release of its property, claiming that the withheld materials are crucial to its mining business.
However, Justice Wilfrida Okwany found that the said goods cannot be released without all the substantive issues raised by all parties being addressed. The case raises questions about how it will be eventually heard in the event the goods are released.
