A Milimani law court has fined a trader Ksh.80,000 or in default, imprisonment for 8 months after the accused trader pleaded guilty to charges of being in possession of uncustomed goods contrary to Section 200 9d0(iii) as read with Section 210© of the East African Community Customs Management Act 2004.
Principal Magistrate David Ndunge found Francis Kariuki Macharia guilty of being in possession of 6000 bottles of 300 ml Azam energy drinks that were uncustomed and of a customs value of Ksh.155,000. He also faced a charge of being in possession of excisable goods without excise stamps which is contrary to regulation 30(1)(b) as read with regulation 30(2) of the Excise Duty(Excisable Goods Management System Regulations, 2017).
Kariuki was arrested while transporting the goods on 14th March 2021 at Mlolongo along Nairobi-Mlolongo road. The Court ordered for the release of motor vehicle used to transport the goods but ordered that the exhibits (Azam Energy drink) be destroyed by KRA.
KRA is conducting surveillance on illicit trade involving use of counterfeit excise stamps to rid the market of illicit goods and promote fair trade as well as protect the public from consuming harmful products.
On Saturday, May 1, 2021, KRA carried out simultaneous operations in various parts of Nairobi including Kariobangi, Ruai, Kiserian, Dandora, Pipeline, Kasarani, and Kenyatta market. The operation happened on Saturday and KRA officers seized various brands of illicit liquor estimated to have a market value of Ksh. 1,194,200 and tax value of Ksh.531, 443.
KRA is committed to ensuring that trade operations are only carried out by traders who abide by the laid down legislations and tax policies.
