Court rejects sureties' appeal over sh100m

Court rejects sureties’ appeal over sh100m

By Edward Anyoli 

THE Anti- Corruption Court has ordered three sureties to continue paying sh10m every month to Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) for allowing tax evader escape.

A city businessman Paul Gurindwa who is accused of evading taxes worth sh1.9b absconded his trial at Anti- Corruption Court.

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

The sureties are: Dr. Kenneth Kamara from Mulago hospital, businessman Emmanuel Begumana Gumisiriza and a lecture at Kyambogo University Godwin Rutaro.

The sureties yesterday applied to court seeking an order to have the term of payment altered because the payment they said is not commensurate with their income.

Anti- Corruption Court Chief Magistrate declined to grant the order saying the court has been very lenient to allow them pay the money in bits.

The tax body is also seeking court order to have judgment entered against 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 David Wangututsi ruled that Gurindwa had a case to answer, he absconded   his trial.

Gurindwa is wanted in court for allegedly evading taxes of Shs1.9b 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  officer in charge of  litigation 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 Shs1, 908, 279, 739 over the years he dealt with Korica.