The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has successfully defended a petition challenging the constitutionality of its investigation and enforcement powers provided under the Tax Procedures Act.
High Court Judge Weldon Korir ruled in favour of KRA in a judgement delivered last Thursday in Nairobi.
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The petition was filed on 12th April, 2017 challenging Sections 57, 58(2), 59 and 99 of the Tax Procedures Act.
The said sections empower KRA to inspect taxpayers’ goods and records as well as direct the taxpayers to produce records and information on their tax liability for purposes of administering a tax law.
Section 57 in particular allows the information received by KRA to be admissible in civil and criminal cases. The petitioner had alleged that the provisions are a breach to the constitutional rights to privacy, right not to self-incriminate and right to fair administrative action. Kenya’s tax system is based on self-declaration.
More often taxpayers do not disclose, either by design or omission of all their sources of income hence the importance of the above sections of the law which authorize KRA to question and interrogate a person’s tax affairs to confirm accuracy.
