This archive report was first published on 28 August 2019.
On August 27, 2019, Mr. Gao Fei, a Chinese national and director of New X-TIGI Technology, was charged at the Milimani Law Courts for tax evasion amounting to approximately KSh194 million.
According to the charges, Mr. Gao Fei failed to pay value-added tax (VAT) for the year 2015 to June 2016 and also failed to submit tax returns for the year 2016, as required under the Tax Procedures Act of 2015.
Mr. Gao Fei denied the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Caroline Nzibe and was released on a cash bail of KShs 150,000, and a surety of KShs 1 million. He was also ordered to deposit his passport in court.
He is scheduled to appear in court on September 26, 2019.
It is worth noting that X-Tigi's woes started in September 2016, when Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) accused them of failing to pay tax for their imported goods into the country, wanting their accounts to be frozen.
X-Tigi deals with both wholesale and distribution of Chinese mobile phones, X-Tigi brands, chargers, phone covers, earphones, and other allied accessories, with operations in Ghana, Cameroon, and Kenya.
It is not the first time a Chinese national has been charged with tax evasion in the country. Another Chinese national, Miao Yi, was arraigned at a Mombasa court on August 20, 2019, in relation to a KShs 1.3 Billion tax evasion case.
