Businessman charged with tax evasion amounting to Sh 11 billion

Parmar Kirit denied four counts of failure to pay tax contrary to the law.

A businessman was Friday charged with evading tax estimated at more than Sh11 billion at a Nairobi magistrate’s court.

Parmar Kirit appeared before Chief Magistrate Francis Andayi and denied four counts of failure to pay tax contrary to the law.

In the first count, he is said to have deliberately omitted from his Value Added Tax returns for the year of income 2015 an amount of Sh3.4billion.

The court heard that the money ought to have been declared to the Commissioner as required by the value added Tax Act. He is said to have committed the offense on dates between June 1 and December 31, 2015 at Kasarani in Nairobi.

Kirit was also charged with another count that between on January 1 and December 31, 2016 at Kasarani area within Nairobi, he omitted tax returns for the year of income 2016 of Sh 8 billion. He was further charged with omitting from returns an amount of Sh237million between January 1 and December 31, 2017.

The court heard Kirit being a person chargeable to tax, failed to file with the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes by the due date his income returns for the years of income 2015 and 2016 as required by law. The prosecution asked court to consider that the accused owns an Indian passport and he might be a flight risk.

“I am a law abiding citizen and not a flight risk as I will avail myself in court when needed’, Kirit told court.

The magistrate, however, released Kirit on a cash bail of Sh1.5million or a bond of Sh3million with a surety of similar amount. Andayi ordered that the accused deposit his passport in court.

The case will be heard on April 25. Meanwhile, another businessman was also charged on Thursday before a Makadara court with failure to pay tax contrary to law valued over Sh15 billion.

Keval Kumar Navin Maisura was accused that jointly with another not in court, knowingly and deliberately omitted from his income tax returns for the years of income a total sum of Sh15,369,511,856.

Kumar allegedly committed the offense on dates between January 1, 2015 and December 31, 2017 at Industrial area within Nairobi.