4 days remain for cargo ‘cheats’ to surrender to TRA

KATARE MBASHIRU

OWNERS of cargo fraudulently cleared from the Dar es Salaam Port have been ordered to present themselves to the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) before the ‘grace’ period granted by President John Magufuli four days ago expires.

In an advertisement published in different local newspapers today, the tax watchdog insists that all companies and business people who evaded tax at the port, occasioning loss of government revenue should obtain tax assessment details for settlement at TRA headquarters.

According to the adverts, errant tax defaulters have until Friday this week to surrender before TRA headquarters to clear their dues before appropriate legal actions are instituted against them.

“Consignees who have not yet come forward should contact the Commissioner for Customs and Excise at Mapato House, Sokoine Drive, in Dar es Salaam, while those who have already presented themselves to TRA and obtained assessment details should settle their dues in full before December 11, 2015,’’ reads the advertisement in part.

The TRA stern warning comes barely four days after Dr Magufuli issued a seven-day ultimatum to tax defaulters to come forward willingly to settle their obligations lest they face the wrath of the law.

The ultimatum came in the wake of recent revelation that over 349 containers ‘vanished’ from inland container depots without paying requisite duties to the government.

Dr Magufuli sounded the warning at the State House in Dar es Salaam at a meeting with the business community last week. The Head of State spoke as Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa separately revealed that more than 2,400 containers had been cleared from the Dar es Salaam port without paying necessary duties since March 2014.

In the advertisement signed by Acting Commissioner for Customs and Exercise Patrick Mugoya, TRA published the names of 41 tax defaulters. They are Lotai Steel Tanzania Ltd, Tuff Tyres Centre Company, Tifo Global Mart (T) Company, IPS Roofing Company Limited, Rushywheel Tyre Centre Co Ltd, Homing International Limited, Red East Building Materials Ltd, Tybat Trading Co Limited and Zing Enterprises Ltd.

Others are Juma Kassem Abdul, Salum Link Tyres, Ally Masoud Dama, CLA Tokyo Limited, Farid Abdullah Salem, Red East Building Materials Co. Ltd, Salum Continental Co, Zuleha Abbas Ali, Issa Ali Salim, Snow Leopard Building, Abdulaziz Mohamed Ally, Ahmed Saleh Tawred, Ali Amer, Ally Awes Alhamdany and Awadhi Salim Saleh.

Also in the list are Fahed Abdallah Said, Hani Said, Hassan Husein Suleyman, Humud Suleiman Humud, Kamil Hussein Ali, Libas Fashion Nassir Salehe Mazrui, Ngiloi Ulomi Enterprises Co. Ltd, Omar Hussein Badawy, Said Ahmad Hamdan, Said Ahmed Said, Strauss International Co. Ltd, Salumu Peculier Tyres, Sapato N.Kyando, Simbo Yonah Kimaro, Strauss International Co. Ltd and Swaleh Mohamed Swaleh.

Last week, President Magufuli expressed concerns that some dishonest businesspeople were cheating the government of taxes and warned of tough action against them. The president urged the business community to operate their trade in line with existing laws and regulations of the land for the interest of majority Tanzanians.

“The country has been facing limited funds to carry out its obligations due to tax evasion by a number of traders as well as swindling of public funds by some civil servants,” he noted.

As crackdowns on tax evaders continue biting, eight people, including senior TRA officials, last Friday appeared before the Kisutu Resident Magistrate’s Court in Dar es Salaam charged with conspiracy to defraud and occasioning a loss of 12.7bn/- to the government.

They are Tiagi Masamaki Kabisi (56), the Customs Commissioner, Habibu Hamisi Mponezya (45), who is Manager, Customs Service Centre, Bulton Mackleans Mponezya (51), Manager, Customs Control and Enforcement and Eliachi Heriel Mrema (31), who is in charge of Azam Inland Container Depot (ICD).

The rest are Khamis Ali Omary (48), Senior Customs Business Analyst, Harun Lyson Mpande (28), TRA Information Communication Technology (ICT), Raymond Adolf Louis (39), who is Operation Safety and Security Manager at Azam ICD and Ashraf Yusuf Khan (59), the Manager Azam ICD.

While the eight officials have been arraigned, the tax watchdog has so far suspended 35 workers who have been implicated in the racket, according to the Acting TRA Commissioner General, Dr Philip Mpango. The workers are currently being interrogated by the police.