According to reports, Naivas owes the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Sh1.79 billion in taxes as a result of the sale of a 31.5 percent share in the leading grocery chain in 2020.
The retailer has moved to the tax tribunal after the taxman accused it of arranging the agreement in Mauritius to evade paying taxes in Kenya.
The late Peter Mukuha Kago, the creator of Naivas, sold the company’s shares to Amethis Retail, a group that included the International Finance Corporation, the German fund DEG, and the private equity firms Amethis and MCB Equity Fund.
“In a layered and complicated scheme involving holding companies and subsidiaries, KRA unearthed a scheme to avoid payment of corporation tax in Kenya,” the taxman said in a press statement.
“The assessment emanated from the 2020 sale of a [31.5 percent] minority stake in Naivas International Limited (Mauritius) to Gakiwawa Family Investments [GFI].”
The KRA claimed that the arrangement, which was allegedly organised in Mauritius to evade taxes in Kenya, saw the family earn Sh5.2 billion through its investment firm Gakiwawa Family Investments.
