Italian arraigned over inflated purchase costs
By Murimi Mutiga, February 2, 2020
An Italian businessman has been charged before a Mombasa Law Court with inflating purchases by over Sh79 million to evade taxes.
Tony Rosafio and his firm Smoky Hill Limited were charged with five counts of making an incorrect statement to defraud the government of tax revenue before Chief Magistrate Edna Nyaloti.
Rosafio is the director of the firm, which deals in construction materials business.
The court heard that on diverse dates from July 2015 to December 2019 in Kilifi County, being the directors of a limited liability company namely Smoky Hill Limited, jointly with others not before court knowingly made incorrect statements to the Commissioner of Domestic taxes in the company’s VAT returns, by claiming fictitious purchases amounting to a total of Sh79,312,856, thereby reducing the company’s value added tax payable for the period by Sh20,176,827.
The accused pleaded not guilty to the charge and was released on a bond of Sh4 million. The matter will be mentioned on February 18.