KRA boss summoned by MPs over alleged Sh62bn 'tax loss' from edible oil scam
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General Humphrey Wattanga.
What you need to know:
- Committee wants Mr Wattanga to provide details on the total cargo volume of palm oil imported by LDC Asia PTA.
- Committee also wants a list of consignees of all the palm oil cargo volumes imported by the company during the period.
Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner-General Humphrey Wattanga has been summoned by MPs over claims the country lost Sh62 billion in taxes in a palm oil import deal.
The Finance and National Planning Committee of the National Assembly wants the KRA boss to shed light on claims that Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) Asia PTA Limited and Louis Dreyfus Company Kenya (LDC) Limited did not declare accurate taxes due for payment for the consignment of palm oil shipped into the country over a period of four years.
“From the foregoing and the importance of revenue mobilisation in the country, the Committee resolved to invite you for a meeting to shed light on the matter,” Senior Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly Jeremiah Ndombi said in a letter dated August 29 to the KRA boss.
“The purpose of this letter is to invite you to the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, September 19,2024 at 10am at a venue to be communicated in due course,” it adds.
Allegations of mis-declard tax
The summon follows documents tabled before the committee that show that tax was allegedly mis-declared on the products imported by the companies for use in Kenya and other East African countries through the Port of Mombasa.
The palm oil cargo imported from Malaysia and Indonesia—the world’s two leading exporters of palm oil products, including RBD palm olein, RBD palm stearin and crude palm kernel oil.
Palm oil stearin is a by-product of palm oil refining and is used in soap and cooking fats manufacture. RBD palm olein is refined palm oil, while crude palm kernel oil is a by-product that is used in soap manufacturing.
Crude palm olein is palm oil that has been semi processed, which means that it has only been fractioned to separate the liquid portion from the solid portion of oil, and attracts import duty at the rate of 10 per cent.
Import declaration documents
To get to the bottom of the matter, the committee wants Mr Wattanga to provide details on the total cargo volume of palm oil imported by LDC Asia PTA through the Port of Mombasa from February 23, 2023, and June 26, 2024.
Copies of all import declaration documents that are not limited to port health reports, Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) reports, bills of lading and cargo manifests for all the 120 cargo of palm oil imported by the company during the period are also required.
Further, the committee wants a list of consignees of all the palm oil cargo volumes imported by the company during the period.
The committee also wants details on the volume of palm oil cargo shipped in by LDC Kenya Limited, Acee Limited, Mazeras Oil Limited, and Vipingo Industries Limited through the port of Mombasa from February 23, 2023 and June 26, 2024.
Further, Mr Wattanga is required to provide details of the taxes and fees paid by these companies during the period. The copies of all import declaration documents for these firms are also required.
