Wamalwa was said to be the second owner after purchasing it from business lady Grace Wambui/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 – The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) wants over Sh6.5 million from Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa in unpaid tax for his Range Rover Vogue SE.
According to KRA, Wamalwa’s car has the highest debt among 11 other vehicles targeted in the tax saga.
Wamalwa was said to be the second owner after purchasing it from business lady Grace Wambui.
The vehicle was transferred to Wamalwa on April 12, 2016.
Wambui and 10 others petitioned the court after KRA seized their motor vehicles.
The aggrieved petitioners said that that KRA did not give them time to comply with the directive to present their vehicles for inspection.
The petitioners through Mwadumbo and Company Advocates, told justice Isaac Lenaola that by giving them less than 24 hours to comply with the directive, KRA breached their rights to fair administrative action.
But KRA insisted that the application before the court should be dismissed, explaining that the notice was justifiable and was caused by the nature of the goods held by the applicants.
KRA’s Investigation and Enforcement Department manager, Owen Kwalia, claimed that the petitioners had not approached the court with clean hands.
“It is common knowledge and a requirement of the law that every owner of an imported vehicle must pay the requisite tax on the said vehicle prior to use,” Kwalia told the court.
KRA insisted that it was just carrying out its mandate and the petitioners needed not to be apprehensive of anything.
Justice Lenaola however, extended temporary orders barring KRA from seizing the motor vehicles pending a hearing on Thursday.
The owners of the motor vehicles were also ordered not to transfer the vehicles to other parties or move them outside the jurisdiction of the court.
On May 5, KRA issued a recall notice for 124 high-end vehicles to facilitate a review of their tax status.
READ: KRA probes tax status for 124 top-of-the-range vehicles
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