Naivasha-based Keroche Breweries Limited has lost a plea to have the court review Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) tas demand.
KRA has instructed Tabitha Karanja’s firm to deposit Sh500 million in its acount pending hearing of a tax dispute amounting to Sh14 billion.
In August 2019, the two Directors of the beer firm Tabitha and her husband Joseph Karanja were arrsted over sh14 billion tax evasion charges.
The two later denied the charge in court and were released on a sh15 million cash bail.
The taxes aresaid to have acrued from 2015.
Justice Majanja refused Keroche’s plea that the ‘order was made during a very difficut time in this country’s history, given the biting efects of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
The judge had said, “I have considered facts…and find nothing new in regard to the nature of the appellant’s business in relation to its tax ability”.
Keroche has said that it was willing to deposit Sh10 million in a joint income-earning account, pending determination of the case.
The firm also argued that the case might lead to its collapse leading to joblessness.
Ms Karanja argued that the business is cash-intensive and that operatinal costs have surpased its revenues.
The company accusses KRA of wrongly reclassyfying its products and backdating taxes.
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