Justice George Odunga has dismissed a suit former City Hall chief finance officer Jimmy Mutuku Kiamba, his wife Tracy Mbinya Musau and Jimbise Limited filed in the High Court seeking to quash a Sh16.9 million claim from the taxman.
Justice Odunga argued that the former City Hall CFO should have first raised objections to the demand and appealed to the Tax Appeals Tribunal before moving to court.
Former City Hall chief finance officer Jimmy Mutuku Kiamba has lost a bid to quash the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) fresh demand that his company pays millions of shillings it owes in unpaid taxes.
Justice George Odunga has dismissed a suit Mr Kiamba, his wife Tracy Mbinya Musau and Jimbise Limited filed in the High Court, seeking to quash a Sh16.9 million claim from the taxman.
The former Nairobi county government CFO had argued in his suit that KRA’s claim was based on interbank transfers between him and Jimbise Limited, which the taxman erroneously treated as rental income.
The taxman has in the court papers indicated that the Sh16.9 million claim is separate from the Sh480 million demand it made on Mr Kiamba in 2015, terming the application “an abuse of the court process” in light of a pending case against the complainant.
Mr Kiamba had in the application made it appear like the taxman had reduced the original claims against him.
In dismissing Mr Kiamba’s suit, Justice Odunga argued that the former City Hall CFO should have first raised objections to the demand and appealed to the Tax Appeals Tribunal before moving to court.
Mr Kiamba has separately appealed the Sh480 million demand before the Tax Appeals Tribunal.
“From a reading of Section 2 of the Tax Appeals Tribunal Act, it comes out clearly that the tribunal is empowered to deal with disputes from the decisions of the commissioner on any matter arising under the provisions of any tax law. It is therefore clear that the tribunal’s powers are very wide and are not restricted to disputes relating to facts only as the applicants contend.”
“In this case, the applicants have not convinced me that the appellate course provided for under the relevant statutes would not have addressed their grievances. In the premises I decline to entertain this application with the result that this application is incompetent and is struck out,” Justice Odunga ruled.
Mr Kiamba hit the headlines in 2015 after the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission revealed in court that he had transacted over Sh400 million in nine months despite being on a Sh85,000 gross monthly salary as Nairobi City County’s chief finance officer. The KRA soon began its pursuit of Mr Kiamba.
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