Lecture 24 Β· A fire took the records. The VAT bill survived.
π»ππ πͺπππ πΉπππ: A Nairobi drum trader said he was only an agent, and that fire and a vanished accountant had taken his proof. The Tax Appeals Tribunal asked for evidence of the agency, the fire and the accountant, and found none.
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The case
Rynus Kinya, a sole trader in Nairobi, said his business was simple. His principal client paid him, and he paid the small traders who supplied the drums, by M-Pesa or in cash, keeping a margin. In his view the money was mostly the principal's, passing through his hands.
The withholding certificates his client filed told KRA a different story: they showed a supplier with large VAT-able sales. KRA assessed additional VAT of KSh 26,402,401. Kinya objected late, in January 2025. KRA accepted the late objection and asked for documents. He could not supply them, and on 20 March 2025 KRA confirmed the assessment.
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Precursor is published by the FinTech Association of Kenya and exercises independent editorial judgement under the Editorial Independence Charter. This article is labelled Precursor Executive Classroom, which marks commercial material. Knowledge on Tax and financial judgement.
Lecture 3 Β· How A CEOβs personal account became a KSh 163.9m tax bill.
π»ππ πͺπππ πΉπππ: Mary Wanjiru Kinyua said KSh 413m in deposits were company sales and loans. Without the paperwork, the courts treated the money as hers, and the one point she won was worth a rounding error.
Tax and financial judgement Β· 6 min read
Lecture 10 Β· Galaxy Tools bought from suppliers nobody could find.
π»ππ πͺπππ πΉπππ: KRA found that ten of a company's suppliers had no premises, no trading history and almost no other customers, and had been paid in cash. The Tribunal said valid invoices were enough. The High Court said invoices only open the argument.
Tax and financial judgement Β· 5 min read Β· Paid
Lecture 13 Β· Lamnas bought from a supplier who had died in 2021
π»ππ πͺπππ πΉπππ: KRA traced the PIN on a company's purchase invoices to a trader buried two years before the first sale. The company blamed a former accountant. The Tribunal held that a dead man cannot supply goods, and upheld KSh 3.5m.
Tax and financial judgement Β· 4 min read Β· Paid