KRA Seizes Ksh80 Million Worth of Diverted Goods

KRA officers have seized a consignment of goods, which had been diverted into three godowns in Ruiru Town.

The goods, seized on 13th August 2021, formed part of 5 containers containing tyres and assorted electronic goods which had been declared to be destined for Southern Sudan but were instead diverted to the country in an alleged attempt to evade taxes.

The verification to establish the tax implication, which are estimated to be worth KShs.80 million is ongoing and the seized items have been transferred to KRA bonded warehouse.

Investigations to establish how the goods declared and destined to a foreign country were being diverted and possibly sold locally are also ongoing.

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It is an offence under regulation 104 (22)of the East African Community Customs Regulations, 2010) for a person to divert goods from the transit route specified under sub regulation (4).

Anyone found guilty of the offence is liable to a fine not exceeding fifty per cent of the value of the goods and the goods which are the subject of the offence shall be liable to forfeiture.

KRA has aggressively embarked on eliminating tax evasion in the country leading to several arrests and prosecutions that have resulted in the unearthing of various tax fraud schemes.

The authority urged taxpayers to remain compliant with tax laws in order to avoid punitive enforcement measures including prosecution.