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Keroche tax row headed back to court
PHOTO: COURTESY
The cash crisis facing Kenya’s second-largest beer maker Keroche Breweries has deepened after it defaulted on a tax repayment plan and ran into salary arrears by more than two months. Trouble at the Naivasha-based brewer became apparent in December when it was shut down by officials of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), but the matter was quietly resolved during the festive season.
Last week, KRA officials were back to torment the brewer after it defaulted on an earlier agreed tax repayment plan in the latest chapter of its long-running battle with the taxman.
Addressing the press in Naivasha, the brewery CEO Tabitha Karanja lashed out at KRA saying it has personalised the matter and ignored a court order.
“It has taken us over 25 years to build this facility using loans but some few individuals want to use KRA to take it back but we shall not allow it,” she said.“We agree that we owe KRA Sh322m in tax arrears and we are ready to pay this when we resume business but our concern is failure by KRA to obey court orders,” she said.
Karanja said the closure had subjected the company to huge losses through the liquor that was ready for packaging, loss of raw materials, accruing interests and loss of market.
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