Taxman loses big as billion shilling suits dismissed by High Court

NAIROBI, KENYA: The taxman is losing billions of shillings in legal suits challenging its move to slap companies with tax claims. For the last two years, KRA has lost more than Sh1 billion in high profile cases before the High Court.

In the case filed by cigarette maker British American Tobacco (BAT), the taxman lost more than a half a billion shillings, where BAT was let off the hook over classification of cigarettes. The decision by High Court Judge George Odunga exonerated BAT from KRA’s wrath, saying that the Finance Act, implemented in 2008 and used to tax BAT products in the market was unclear and thus the company was entitled to use the method that was advantageous to it.