Equity Bank Kenya has lost a Sh1.16 billion tax dispute arising from various fees earned by the lender between 2013 and 2016, which the High Court ruled was subject to excise duty.
Justice David Majanja agreed with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) that loan and credit evaluation review, temporary overdrafts, un-cleared cheques, letters of credit, bank guarantees, invoice and bill discounting, fall within the definition of interest under the Income Tax Act (ITA).
