The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) suffered a blow in its pursuit of Sh619.16 million in excise tax from Cooperative Bank of Kenya after a tribunal barred the taxman from collecting the money.

The Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT) stopped the taxman from enforcing the order until Co-op Bank’s appeal against tax demands for the transactions made in 2013, 2014 and 2015 is heard and determined.

The tribunal dismissed KRA’s bid to quash Co-Op Bank’s appeal saying that the taxman relied on ambiguous clauses on definition of ‘interest, fees and commissions’ to demand the arrears.

Co-op Bank Group CEO Gideon Muriuki said the lender has raised its loan loss provision by 57.9 percent to Sh1.87 billion from Sh1.18 billion in appreciation of the tough environment facing borrowers since Covid-19 pandemic struck.