Tanzania Revenue Authority, Attorney General win appeal over 145bn/- judicial review tax dispute

bagamoyo

JF-Expert Member
Jan 14, 2010
21,046
23,835
By FAUSTINE KAPAMA-Judiciary

THE Court of Appeal has nullified the proceedings of the High Court, which granted extension of time to Milambo Limited to apply for judicial review in a tax matter relating to payments of over 145bn/- to Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA).

Justices Stella Mugasha, Zepharine Galeba and Issa Maige ruled against Milambo Limited, the respondent, after allowing an appeal lodged by the TRA and the Attorney General of the United Republic of Tanzania, the appellants, to oppose the decision of the High Court.

“We nullify the entire proceedings and judgment in Miscellaneous Civil Application No. 57 of 2020 and the incidental orders. Thus, the first ground of appeal is merited since it disposes the entire appeal (……). The appeal is allowed with costs,” they declared.

In one of the grounds of appeal, the counsel for the appellants had submitted that the trial court erred in law by holding that it has jurisdiction to invoke judicial review powers of matters including matters arising from Revenue Laws administered by the Tanzania Revenue Authority.

The justices said in their judgment delivered recently that the High Court embarked on a nullity having wrongly assumed jurisdiction which was expressly ousted by the prescribed specific forums established under the Tax Administration Act and the Tax Revenue Appeals Act.

“It erroneously crowned itself with jurisdiction that it did not possess in entertaining and determining the respondent's application for extension of time to apply for leave to pursue prerogative orders. In the circumstances, the High Court proceedings and the resulting ruling cannot be spared,” they said.

The justices noted that the respondent all along claimed TRA illegally collected her monies as settlement of outstanding liability of corporate tax, capital gain tax and stamp duty, which fall under the provisions of sections 88 (1), (2) and 89 of the Income Tax Act and section 5 (1) (a) and (b) of the Stamp Duty Act.

“These are the revenue laws administered by (TRA) which is prescribed as a central body for the assessment and collection of specified revenue mandated to administer and enforce the laws relating to such revenue and the related matters,” the justices said.

They pointed out that as the respondent complaint hinged on the assessment and collection of taxes arising from the revenue laws administered by TRA the grievances were justiciable in the Tax Revenue Appeals Board, thus outside the competence of the High Court be it in a suit or by judicial review.

Milambo Limited, the respondent, entered into a share purchase agreement with Vodacom Group Limited over the shares held by the respondent in Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company.

On November 20, 2017, the respondent sought the indulgence of the TRA to issue a private ruling in order to confirm if the intended share purchase transfer attracted corporate and capital gain taxes under the Income Tax Act, 2004 (the ITA).

The respective private ruling was handed down on January 11, 2018 confirming that the corporate income tax was not applicable under the intended share purchase agreement.

This prompted the respondent and Vodacom Group Limited to sign a share purchase agreement on February 15, 2018 and proceeded with securing various approvals from the Capital Markets and Securities Authorities.

The compliance with the regulatory requirements for completion of the share purchase transaction was pursued. After the share purchase agreement was executed, the TRA revoked the private ruling on February 14, 2019, for a reason that its validity had expired.

In respect of the uncompleted share purchase transaction, the respondent sought and was granted a second private ruling which was however revoked on September 21, 2019. Undaunted, the respondent sought an administrative review against the revocation, but no response was given by the TRA.

On September 24, 2019 instead, the TRA notified the respondent on the existing tax liability on sales of shares in Vodacom (T) listed at the Dar-es-salaam Stock Exchange.

It was also brought to the attention of the respondent that since the realization transaction was concluded, a jeopardy assessment was issued and that the collection of due taxes was to be effected through Agency Notice in order to safeguard the interests of the Government.

This was effected to by the TRA who on September 25, 2019 issued an Agency Notice to the National Bank of Commerce directing the Bank with immediate effect, to collect a sum of Tshs. 146,118,017,395/= from monies held in the Bank Accounts of Vodacom Group Limited and remit the same to the tax authority.

On September 26, 2019, the Managing Director of the Bank notified the respondent on existence of the Agency Notice.
The Bank obliged and on September 27, 2019 notified the respondent to have remitted the sum in question to the TRA in settlement of the capital gains tax and stamp duty she owed to.

Discontented with the revocation of the second ruling and the Agency Notice, the respondent lodged a notice of objection against the assessment of the corporate tax and stamp duty.

However, despite several reminders as alleged, the matter was not attended to by TRA, which prompted the respondent to seek intervention of the Attorney General, which also bore no fruits. It is against the said backdrop, that the respondent opted to seek redress by invoking the remedy of judicial review.

Source: TRA, AG WIN APPEAL OVER 145BN/- JUDICIAL REVIEW TAX DISPUTE
 
Wadau wanatumia haki yao ya kimsingi Judicial review, ni jambo jema umma mpana wakati mwingine kuona hukumu zifanyiwe marejeo / judicial review pale wanapodhani hawajaridhika na taratibu zilizotumika.
 
Rostam Aziz ndiye Milambo Ltd
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF TANZANIA AT DAR ES SALAAM (CORAM: MUGASHA, J.A.. GALEBA. J.A And MAIGE. J.A/1CIVIL APPEAL NO. 62 OF 2022

COMMISSIONER GENERAL TANZANIA REVENUE AUTHORITY...................................................................1st APPELLANT

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE UNITEDREPUBLIC OF TANZANIA ............................................................. 2nd APPELLANT

VERSUS

MILAMBO LIMITED................................RESPONDENT

(Appeal from the Ruling and Drawn Order of the High Court of Tanzania,(Main Registry) at Dar-es-Salaam)fFeleshi. J.IO dated the 30th day of April, 2021 in Misc. Civil Application No. 57 of 2020 JUDGMENT OF THE COURTJO & 14* June, 2022 MUGASHA, J.A.

Before us is an appeal against the decision of the High Court at Dar-es- Salaam dated 30/4/2021 in Misc. Civil Application No. 57 of 2020 in which the appellants were respondents.

The appellants herein are challenging the ruling of the High Court in Misc. Civil Application No. 57 of 2020 in which the High Court (Feleshi JK as he then was) granted the respondent extension ...............................................................................
apply for leave to file an application to seek prerogative orders of certiorari and mandamus.The essential background to this appeal is briefly as follows: Milambo Limited, the respondent herein entered into a share purchase agreement with Vodacom Group Limited over the shares held by the respondent in Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company.

It is discerned in the record before us that, on 20/11/2017, the respondent sought the indulgence of the 1st appellant to issue a private ruling in order to confirm if the intended share purchase transfer attracted corporate and capital gain taxes under the Income Tax Act, 2004 (the ITA).

The respective private ruling was handed down on 11/1/2018 confirming that the corporate income tax was not applicable under the intended share purchase agreement.


This prompted the respondent and Vodacom Group Limited to sign a share purchase agreement on 15/2/2018 and proceeded with securing various approvals from the Capital Markets and Securities Authorities and compliance with the regulatory requirements for completion of the share purchase transaction were pursued.

After the share purchase agreement was executed, the 1st appellant revoked the private ruling on 14/2/2019, for a reason that its validity had expired. It is on record that, in respect of the...................... resulting ruling cannot be spared.

We nullify the entire proceedings and judgment in Miscellaneous Civil Application No. 57 of 2020 and the incidental orders. Thus, the first ground of appeal is merited since it disposes the entire appeal, we shall not embark on the determination of the remaining second ground of appeal. Thus, the appeal is allowed with costs.

DATED at DAR ES SALAAM this 13th day of June, 2022. S. E. MUGASHA JUSTICE OF APPEAL Z. N. GALEBA JUSTICE OF APPEAL I. J. MAIGE JUSTICE OF APPEAL The Judgment delivered this 14th day of June, 2022 in the presence of Mr. Ayoub Sanga, learned State Attorney for the 1st and 2nd Appellants and Mr. Yohanes Konda, learned counsel for the respondent, is hereby certified .... READ FULL JUDGMENT source :
 
Naona kama ni kuviziana. Wateja wameuliza TRA kama kuna kodi zozote ikiwa shares zitauzwa. Wakajibiwa hakuna. Barua ikaisha muda wake. Wakaomba kuongezewa muda wakapewa. Wakaendela kufanya mauzo ya shares. Halafu barua zikafutwa. Baadaye wanaambiwa kuna kodi inatakiwa kulipwa.
Kwa kuwa wana mamlaka wakaiambia BENKI ihamishe hela kwenda TRA.
Kuna maisa wa TRA hawakutekeleza wajibu wao.
Imekiwa kuvisiana tu
 
Naona kama ni kuviziana. Wateja wameuliza TRA kama kuna kodi zozote ikiwa shares zitauzwa. Wakajibiwa hakuna. Barua ikaisha muda wake. Wakaomba kuongezewa muda wakapewa. Wakaendela kufanya mauzo ya shares. Halafu barua zikafutwa. Baadaye wanaambiwa kuna kodi inatakiwa kulipwa.
Kwa kuwa wana mamlaka wakaiambia BENKI ihamishe hela kwenda TRA.
Kuna maisa wa TRA hawakutekeleza wajibu wao.
Imekiwa kuvisiana tu
For sure hii kesi kama imekaa kimchongo vile..
Jamaa waliwafuata kuwauliza kabla then wakageukwa..
Halafu kesi akapewa AG..
Kuna kitu hapo..
 
Rostam Aziz ndiye Milambo Ltd

Naona upo vizuri na pia ni msomaji makini kabisa .

23 September 2019​

Tanzanian Tycoon Rostam Aziz Sells Last Tranche Of Vodacom Shares For $220 Million​


According to a report by Citizen newspaper, Aziz sold his last 588 million shares in Vodacom Tanzania, which was held under Mirambo Holdings, one of his investment vehicles, to Vodacom South Africa in a deal that was conducted on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange on Wednesday last week. The shares were valued at approximately $220 million at the time of the sale. A spokesperson for Vodacom Tanzania did not respond to a request for comment.

Rostam Aziz, 54, was Tanzania’s first billionaire and is still one of the country’s leading businessmen and power brokers. Apart from his shareholding in Vodacom Tanzania, he built a fortune from stakes in contract mining firm Caspian Mining, a Port in Dar es Salaam, extensive real estate in Tanzania and the Middle East and investments in Tanzanian media. In July this year, he launched a $65 million liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage and filling facility in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Source : Tanzanian Tycoon Rostam Aziz Sells Last Tranche Of Vodacom Shares For $220 Million
 
Toka maktaba za online


NOVEMBER 14, 20185:17 PMUPDATED 4 YEARS AGO

UPDATE 2-Vodacom Tanzania approves sale of 26 pct stake to South Africa's Vodacom Group​

By Nuzulack Dausen

(Adds quotes)
DAR ES SALAAM, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Shareholders in Vodacom Tanzania on Wednesday approved the sale of a 26 percent stake owned by Mirambo Holdings Ltd to South Africa’s Vodacom Group.

They approved the transaction during an extraordinary annual general meeting in Tanzania’s commercial capital, Dar es Salaam.

“What we did today is just part of the required approval for the deal and this does not mean the deal is done, there are other authorities that need to approve it too, Ali Mufuruki, Vodacom Tanzania’s chairman said.

The size of the transaction means approval from several institutions, including the Fair Competition Commission (FCC) and Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA), will be required, he said.

Mirambo Holdings is the investment vehicle of Tanzanian business tycoon Rostam Aziz.


“After successful acquisition of the shares, in principle, Vodacom SA will announce the offer and invite any Vodacom Tanzania shareholder interested to buy the shares for a specific time and after that they proceed with the process,” Mufuruki added.

Vodacom is Tanzania’s leading telecom company and controls 32 percent of the country’s 40 million mobile subscribers, ahead of companies including Tigo Tanzania, a subsidiary of Sweden’s Millicom, and a local unit of India’s Bharti Airtel .

The company said recently that Vodacom Group had entered into an agreement with Mirambo, and certain of Mirambo’s shareholders, under the terms of which Vodacom Group will acquire all of Mirambo’s 588 million shares in Vodacom Tanzania.

This will result in Vodacom Group increasing its total interest in Vodacom Tanzania from 61.6 percent to 75 percent.

Last August, the company went through a $213 million initial public offering, Tanzania’s largest ever, which attracted more than 40,000 local investors, most of whom were first-time participants in the country’s stock market.

Foreigners, initially banned from participating, bought 40 percent of the shares. The move was part of a government directive for mobile companies to list a minimum 25 percent stake at the local Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Nuzulack Dausen Writing by Omar Mohammed Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and David Evans).
 
Naona upo vizuri na pia ni msomaji makini kabisa .

23 September 2019​

Tanzanian Tycoon Rostam Aziz Sells Last Tranche Of Vodacom Shares For $220 Million​


According to a report by Citizen newspaper, Aziz sold his last 588 million shares in Vodacom Tanzania, which was held under Mirambo Holdings, one of his investment vehicles, to Vodacom South Africa in a deal that was conducted on the Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange on Wednesday last week. The shares were valued at approximately $220 million at the time of the sale. A spokesperson for Vodacom Tanzania did not respond to a request for comment.

Rostam Aziz, 54, was Tanzania’s first billionaire and is still one of the country’s leading businessmen and power brokers. Apart from his shareholding in Vodacom Tanzania, he built a fortune from stakes in contract mining firm Caspian Mining, a Port in Dar es Salaam, extensive real estate in Tanzania and the Middle East and investments in Tanzanian media. In July this year, he launched a $65 million liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage and filling facility in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Source : Tanzanian Tycoon Rostam Aziz Sells Last Tranche Of Vodacom Shares For $220 Million
Ila capital gain ni hatari aiseee. Kwenye hili swala Vodacom ndiye kaumia maana hela zao ndio zilichukuliwa kwani Rostam alishalipwa muda akazihamishia New Jersey Islands, kwani huko ndiko Milambo inesajiliwa, huku Tz ilikuwa sub tu
 
Ila capital gain ni hatari aiseee. Kwenye hili swala Vodacom ndiye kaumia maana hela zao ndio zilichukuliwa kwani Rostam alishalipwa muda akazihamishia New Jersey Islands, kwani huko ndiko Milambo inesajiliwa, huku Tz ilikuwa sub tu

Nami nina ndoto za kuwa mfanyabiashara wa viwango hivi vya kimataifa. Kuwa na ma account huko offShore... manake madili haya siku zote huwa mara nyingi yanaishia kumalizwa kisheria zaidi na unaendelea na biashara zako za kuvuka mipaka bila tatizo.

www.washingtonpost.com
More than 100 billionaires kept money hidden in offshore accounts

6 Oct 2021 — The U.S. has long condemned secretive offshore tax havens where the rich and powerful hide their money. But a burgeoning American trust industry ...
offshores accounts for millionaires from www.washingtonpost.com
 
Naona kama ni kuviziana. Wateja wameuliza TRA kama kuna kodi zozote ikiwa shares zitauzwa. Wakajibiwa hakuna. Barua ikaisha muda wake. Wakaomba kuongezewa muda wakapewa. Wakaendela kufanya mauzo ya shares. Halafu barua zikafutwa. Baadaye wanaambiwa kuna kodi inatakiwa kulipwa.
Kwa kuwa wana mamlaka wakaiambia BENKI ihamishe hela kwenda TRA.
Kuna maisa wa TRA hawakutekeleza wajibu wao.
Imekiwa kuvisiana tu
Mimi naona kuna kuviziana na kukimoana. Kwa sisi ambao huwa tunafanya trip nyingi TRA tunajua namna ambavyo huwa wanasisitiza kufanya mawasiliano nao kwa barua na wao wanakujibu kwa barua pia. Lakini hapa naona baada ya kugundua labda mtu aliyepo nyuma ya mchakato wakaamua kumgeuka na kumkomoa tu. Hii sio nzuri hata kidogo maana ni uzrmbe kwa upande wao na sio Milambo
 
0 Reactions
Reply
Back
Top Bottom