Tanzania High Commission in London owes Sh7.5 billion in congestion charges

By  Paul Owere Web Editor Mwananchi Communications Ltd

What you need to know:

• In a statement, the American Embassy said it believed they were exempt from the charge, claiming it was a tax, a position that Tanzania and other countries share.

Dar es Salaam. Tanzania’s High Commission in the United Kingdom owes more than £2.2 million (Sh7.5 billion) to Transport for London (TfL) for unpaid congestion charges, the latest figures reveal.

The scheme involves a £15 daily fee for driving within an area of central London between 07:00 and 18:00 on weekdays, and between noon and 18:00 on weekends and bank holidays.

Speaking to The Citizen, Tanzania’s High Commissioner to the UK, Mbelwa Kairuki, said the charges, which are not unique in their entirety, are contentious, a position shared by other foreign missions in London.

“This congestion charge has been disputed by the diplomatic community since its inception on the grounds that it is a tax just like any other, yet diplomats are not subject to taxation - this is the basis for the non-payment,” he noted.

TfL, on the other hand, maintains that the congestion charge is a charge for a service and not a tax, and diplomats are not exempt from paying it.

"The majority of embassies in London do pay the charge, but there remains a stubborn minority who refuse to do so, despite our representations through diplomatic channels,” TfL said in a statement.

It added: "We will continue to pursue all unpaid congestion charge fees and related penalty charge notices, and are pushing for the matter to be taken up at the International Court of Justice."

Former Tanzanian High Commissioner to the UK Dr Asha-Rose Migiro (second left-front row) in a group photo with the minister for Finance, Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, and other officials during their tour of the UK. PHOTO | FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The figures from TfL relate to unpaid fees and fines accrued by Tanzanian diplomats between the launch of the congestion charge in 2003 and December 2023.

Kenya, Tanzania’s immediate neighbour to the north, has not been spared, as their High Commission in London owes TfL some £3,260,940 (Sh10.7 billion).

The entire diplomatic community owes more than £143 million to Transport for London (TfL), with the US Embassy owing the largest amount at almost £14 million and the Embassy of Japan owing over £10.1 million. Meanwhile, Togo owes only £40.

In a statement, the American Embassy said it believed they were exempt from the charge, claiming it was a tax, a position that Tanzania and other countries share.

A spokesperson for the US Embassy in London said: "In accordance with international law as reflected in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, our position is that the congestion charge is a tax from which diplomatic missions are exempt.

"Our long-standing position is shared by many other diplomatic missions in London.”

According to the BBC, the Foreign Office said that they expect diplomats to pay the charge, adding that they believed that there were no legal grounds for diplomatic exemptions.

In February 2020, then-foreign secretary Dominic Raab issued a written ministerial statement revealing that his officials had written to "a number of diplomatic missions and international organisations" to "press for payment" of money owed relating to the congestion charge, parking fines, and business rates.

Tanzanian High Commission in Stratford Place, London