KEROCHE BREWERIES STATEMENT ON KRA FAILURE TO ADHERE TO A COURT ORDER
Keroche Breweries limited CEO Tabitha Karanja (2nd right) while issuing statement.
Tabitha Karanja, CEO Keroche Breweries limited
Worth Noting:
Nonetheless, we want to highlight that the business closure has predisposed us to ACTUAL AND IMMINENT LOSSES which include but not limited to;
- Unintentional lay-off of our 400 direct employees among other thousands of indirect workers;
- 87,500 LITRES OF BEER, filtered and ready for packaging at our factory and 1,250,000 LITRES (6 TANKS) of beer that is ready for filtration and packaging worth Kshs.350,000,000.00;
- LOSS OF RAW MATERIALS including malted barley, sorghum and hops among other finished products in our stores.
- ACCRUING INTEREST from loans advanced to us by banks; AND Loss of our MARKET SHARE AND DISTRIBUTION NETWORK.
On the 14th of July 2022, the HIGH COURT issued an ORDER directing the KENYA REVENUE AUTHORITY to unseal our packaging line, our stores and to reactivate the Exercisable Goods Management System (EGMS) at our BREWERY and to generally allow us to carry on business forthwith. Notwithstanding the COURT ORDER, the Kenya Revenue Authority has REFUSED AND DECLINED to open our brewery.
On 18TH JULY 2022, KRA went back to Court to seek an Order to STOP the reopening of our brewery. KRA issued a press release yesterday indicating that they had indeed moved to Court to STOP THE REOPENING OF OUR BREWERY. Importantly however, the Orders they were seeking to stop the re-opening WERE NOT GRANTED. It is inconceivable how KRA, against the Court Orders, are determined to ensure that our business remains SHUT DOWN and our 400 direct employees and thousands other indirect employees become jobless.
We have EVERY INTENTION to pay the taxes that we have admitted, provided that we are allowed to carry on business in order to generate the profits that would in good time allow us to fully repay taxes owing. Our ENTERPRISE VALUE as a company is MORE THAN 30 TIMES the amount of the taxes that we owe the KRA. The unfortunate circumstances we are experiencing are partly due to the Covid-19 ripple effects that slowed down our market and business sales, and the consistent and determined efforts by KRA that have been meted on us to ostensibly punish us.
As a result of these, we have not been able to break even in the short period that we have been allowed to do business.
In our very honest view, business closure as a TAX ENFORCEMENT MEASURE is a SELF-DEFEATING ACTION that does NOT allow KRA to recover the taxes owing, the current taxes, and the future taxes that would result from business continuity.
We MUST therefore express our LEGITIMATE AND REAL APPREHENSION that there are other EXTRANEOUS factors motivating the unrelenting forces behind KRA to shut down our business and render our employees jobless. It is NOT just about the taxes. We repeat, it is NOT just about the taxes.
This is about vested interests by our competitors within the industry through the aid of powerful individuals weaponising government institutions.
Nonetheless, we want to highlight that the business closure has predisposed us to ACTUAL AND IMMINENT LOSSES which include but not limited to;
- Unintentional lay-off of our 400 direct employees among other thousands of indirect workers;
- 87,500 LITRES OF BEER, filtered and ready for packaging at our factory and 1,250,000 LITRES (6 TANKS) of beer that is ready for filtration and packaging worth Kshs.350,000,000.00;
- LOSS OF RAW MATERIALS including malted barley, sorghum and hops among other finished products in our stores.
- ACCRUING INTEREST from loans advanced to us by banks; AND Loss of our MARKET SHARE AND DISTRIBUTION NETWORK.
We therefore now urge the KRA, that IF NOT for the business of Keroche Breweries and IF NOT for the 400 DIRECT EMPLOYEES AND THOUSANDS INDIRECTLY that work for us, and EVEN IF IT IS NOT for the business continuity and economic value that we bring to our NATION, THEN BUT FOR THE RULE OF LAW, in compliance and in accordance with the COURT ORDER, they should act expeditiously to reopen the brewery and allow us to carry on business.
The Court Order is very clear and self-explanatory. We want to ask them to do nothing more than respecting the SANCTITY AND THE RULE OF LAW.
In any case, their application to Court on Wednesday to keep us closed was WITHOUT success.
We reiterate our commitment to pay all the taxes due and owing to KRA and we respectfully urge them to allow us to do the business that would UNFAILINGLY generate the money to pay off the owed taxes, the current taxes and the future taxes.
We have instructed our lawyers to IMMEDIATELY issue notice of our intention to cite all the RESPONSIBLE PERSONS within KRA for CONTEMPT OF COURT for deliberately FAILING, REFUSING AND IGNORING THE COURT ORDER.
THANK YOU!
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