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TRA impounds 3bn/- undeclared petrol in Tanga
2006-05-15 09:21:36
By Thobias Mwanakatwe, PST, Tanga
Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Tanga region, has impounded six million litres of petrol worth 3.2bn/- after the importer was discovered to have under-declared the quantity of his consignment.
TRA regional manager in Tanga, Hakim Kimungu said yesterday the importers initially produced documents that showed the ship had a consignment of four million litres, the equivalent of 4,400 metric tonnes that was destined for Tanga. The petrol was the property of GBP Company.
Kimungu said when TRA officials were supervising the off-loading exercise, they discovered that the vessel was carrying six million litres above the quantity reflected on the manifest.
’The discrepancy on the manifest was a clear indication that the importer had violated import regulations. The claims that the remaining six million litres were destined for Somalia should have appeared on the manifest. However, this was not the case,’ Kimungu said.
It was explained that a foreign vessel, mv Olympic Pride from Saudi Arabia loaded with 10 million litres of petrol docked at Tanga seaport, with its manifest showing that the vessel was transporting four million litres of petrol destined for Tanga.
The local distributor, GBP Company of Tanga, was allowed to collect the quantity that was indicated in the manifest only.
The impounded consignment, said Kimungu, would remain in the custody of TRA, pending a decision by the Commissioner of Customs on what measures to take against the importer.
’But the decision will definitely send a strong message to tax evaders that their days were numbered. Importers have been denying the government revenue through persistent falsification of information on the manifests,’ Kimungu added.
Early last month, Prime Minister Edward Lowassa warned TRA and ports authorities in Tanga against colluding with importers to defraud the government of revenue.
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