Vehicles imported fraudulently are destroyed at the East African Portland Cement on August 31, 2018. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP In 2016, the taxman had indicated that there could have been more than 300 other vehicles on Kenyan streets with questionable registration.
KRA has since recovered some Sh36 million from the car syndicate with 15 cases prosecuted involving 18 individuals.
The KRA and NTSA systems are however supposed to work in tandem, such that one cannot get a number plate before being cleared thorough customs, which essentially means payment of duty.
Exactly two years since the Kenya Revenue Authority deregistered some 121 vehicles suspected to have been imported without payment of duty, only 18 have been traced, underlining the intricate nature of the smuggling syndicate behind the illicit trade.
Since 12 vehicles had already been presented to the KRA for inspection after the first notice was issued, it means only six have been netted in 24 months.
The taxman told Sunday Nation that another set of 74 cars not listed in the 2016 notice have been found to have been fraudulently imported since then as the tax evaders go into overdrive to beat KRA systems in the illicit trade.
KRA Commissioner for Investigations and Enforcement David Yego said police have been properly briefed to hunt for the vehicles whose registration details were made public in June 2016 and de-registered three months later.
“Apart from those in the list of 121 motor vehicles that are still at large, the authority suspects there are more vehicles still out there in the public, which we cannot quantify at this moment in time for suspected tax evasion. It is worth noting that investigations generally are complex and bound to take considerable time,” Mr Yego said.
MISSED REVENUE
In 2016, the taxman had indicated that there could have been more than 300 other vehicles on Kenyan streets with questionable registration. The 74 additional cars impounded could have been part of the vehicles.
A multiagency team involving KRA, the National Transport and Safety Authority, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the National Police Service, among others, is burning the midnight oil to battle the cartel, which keeps changing tactics in ensuring high end cars are imported without duty and fraudulently registered in the country.KRA has since recovered some Sh36 million from the car syndicate with 15 cases prosecuted involving 18 individuals.A key method employed by the […]
