Dar es Salaam. In what looks like no end to woes facing the renowned famous businessman Yusuf Manji, the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) yesterday closed one of Manji’s companies known as Farm Equipment.
TRA statement said the offices have
been put under the lock for the company failure to pay taxes to TRA to a
tune of Sh12.2 billion. The Taxpayer Education director at TRA, Mr
Richard Kayombo, told The Citizen that the moves comes after the
authority tried to communicate severally with the office to no avail.
“We tried to communicate with the company manager several times,
including sending an official letter on August 15, this year but we did
not get any response,” he stressed.
According to him, the money includes income tax, withholding tax and value added tax (VAT).
Adding that TRA was open to further discussion with the businessman on how he was going to pay the outstanding debt.
Farm
Equipment (Tanzania) Limited, (FETL) is a company dealing in sales and
service of farm machinery, spare parts, tools and equipment.
The Citizen visited the offices whicha re located along Pugu Road.
A watchman, who didn’t want to be named in the paper said TRA locked the offices at around 10 am.
“It
was around 10 am, when TRA oficials in collaboration with Yono Auction
Mart and Company Ltd, locked the office and ordered workers to vacate,”
said the source. Mr Manji has been facing several challenges since
beginning of this year, others including the arm of the law.
Other
challenges include prospects of losing his position as Mbagala Kuu ward
Councillor, after he failed to attend six full council meetings
consecutively. It was confirmed September 6, this year by the Temeke
Municipal Mayor, Mr Abdallah Chaurembo, who said Mr Manji has breached
section 8, article 25(5) (a) (b) of the local government’s act of 1982
and the municipal regulations.
He stressed that Manji
had missed six full council meetings consecutively something which
denied representation to Mbagala Kuu residents.
Therefore,
he wrote to the Minister in the President’s Office Regional
Administration and Local Governments as it is required by the law.
However,
the decision was made while Manji was under custody for months pending
hearing of economic and national security charges levelled
against
him by the state. He was, however, freed after the Director of Public
Prosecution said that he had no interest in pursuing the charges.
Other
misfortunes facing the businessman include the decision by President
John Magufuli to revoke ownership of his 714-acre farm in Kigamboni, Dar
es Salaam.
Yusuf Manji, CEO of QGL (Quality Group
Limited), before his early retirement was one of the most reputed
businessman in Tanzania. He heads a $700- million conglomerate in a wide
range of sectors including automobiles, real estate, facilities and
trade.
He is also a representative of TANPERCH (a QGL
company) is the Chairman of the Tanzanian Industrial Fishing and
Processors Association.
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