URA pursues sh1.9b in taxes from city businessman

By Edward Anyoli        

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has applied to the Anti-Corruption Court to recover taxes worth sh1.9b from a city businessman.

The tax body is also seeking court order to have judgment entered against Paul Gurindwa who jumped bail last year.

The Anti- Corruption Court had heard all the evidence from the eleven prosecution witnesses but when court presided over by Justice Justice David Wangututsi ruled that Gurindwa had a case to answer, he absconded   his trial.

Court has issued a number of summonses requiring Gurindwa to appear in court but he failed to heed to the summonses.  
Assistant acting registrar Sarah Langa Siu of the Anti- Corruption Court has issued a criminal summon for Gurindwa to appear in court on March23 to answer the charges.

“You are hereby commanded to appear before this court on 23 day of March, 2015 at 2:30pm or soon thereafter as case can be heard,” Langa said.

Gurindwa also known as Tumusiime is wanted in court for allegedly evading taxes of sh1.9b he was supposed to remit to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) on behalf of a Korean company.

Korica, a Korean company, importing electrical equipment such as electric transformers, inductors and static converters claims to have hired Gurindwa to help it pay taxes to Uganda Revenue Authority.

Prosecution  through its  state attorney Mary Kamuli Kutesa  said ,Gurindwa, who  was hired  by  Korica  to remit taxes  to  URA  allegedly failed to remit  the  revenue to the tax body but instead, presented  fake receipts to Korica  to show  that  taxes  had been  remitted.

Kamuli said   Gurindwa created different invoices, with lower values, which he presented to URA for customs tax payments. He then allegedly proceeded to pay much lower taxes based on forged invoice values to URA.

 Prosecution said he allegedly made another set of documents and bank receipts with value of taxes payable to URA and presented them to tax payers Korica for accountability.

In all, according to URA Gurindwa failed to remit taxes amounting to sh1, 908, 279, 739 over the years he dealt with Korica
Gurindwa was charged on May16, 2012 and was granted bail.  Dr. Kenneth Kamara of Mulago Hospital, Emmanuel Begumana Gumisiriza a businessman and Gowin Rutaro a lecturer at Kyambogo University stood as sureties for him.

After Gurindwa disappearance, court has since ordered the three sureties to pay sh100m each. Court ordered that each surety is supposed to pay sh10m every month.