The tax man has moved to address a growing snarl-up of trucks at the Kenya-Tanzania border town of Namanga and dismissed claims it is due to an increment of taxes on liquid petroleum gas.
The Kenya Revenue Authority said it is committed to resolve the impasse that is increasingly threatening the safety of the area.
KRA said Wednesday the LPG tax was reintroduced by the Kenyan government in July 2021, after being zero-rated in 2016, but had not been increased.
Some of the importers were undervaluing their LPG products to evade tax and have since been issued with notices to comply after which their trucks will be cleared from the border post.
“During a recent compliance check, KRA noted that there have been cases of undervaluation by importers on LPG products, which is an offence.”
A compliance advisory was issued to the Namanga station for implementation and an additional assessment was carried out on May 6, 2022.
“It is also significant to note that the LPG products in question are not sourced from the East African Community partner states as reported,” read a statement signed by KRA’s Deputy Commissioner for Customs Revenue and Regional Coordination.
The tax impasse at the Namanga border post has caused a build-up of transit trucks, some destined for as far as South Sudan.
Some of the LPG trucks have reportedly started leaking, endangering the safety of the drivers, residents, and workers in the area.
Witnesses said there were over 200 trucks at the border and the queue was growing.
KRA said it is aware of the inconvenience and security risks caused by the LPG trucks, adding that it is working with the affected importers to resolve the issue.
“We have also noted with concern the affected trucks are blocking the boarder, inconveniencing other compliant importers and posing a security risk at the border.”
“KRA has had an engagement with importers’ representatives and owners of the trucks and they have been instructed to quickly comply and clear their LPG consignments from the Namanga One-Stop Border Post.”
The authority said their overall mandate is to assess, collect and account for all tax revenues in accordance with the written laws and the specified provisions of the written laws.
-Edited by SKanyara
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