MPs give tax stamps firm ultimatum
A Swiss security solutions firm has been summoned by Parliament over a Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) excise tax stamps contract that has raised questions in the past.
On Tuesday, the National Assembly Committee on Finance and Planning gave the directors of SICPA SA two weeks to appear before it to shed more light on the multi-billion excise tax stamps project it is implementing for KRA.
SICPA SA, a Swiss company, is contracted by KRA to provide excise stamps for excisable goods.
According to the committee’s chair, Molo Member of Parliament Kuria Kimani, Parliament is seeking to establish the total number of stamps that have been supplied to date and how SICPA SA costs them.
Contract termination
Additionally, Parliament is seeking to know what necessitated the termination of a five-year contract the company won in 2015 before its lapsed.
But even as Parliament grapples with these issues, Business Hub has established that earlier this year, SICPA SA was convicted of corporate criminal liability for failing to prevent acts of impropriety in South America.
In April 2023, The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland ordered SICPA to pay Sh13.15 billion (81 million Swiss Francs) for failing to take all necessary and reasonable organisational precautions to prevent bribes to foreign public officials abroad.
“The proceedings identified organisational deficiencies that made it possible for employees of SICPA to bribe public officials in the conduct of business in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. Organisational deficiencies were particularly evident in the areas of corporate governance, risk management and compliance,” reads a media release published on The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland’s website.
A former SICPA sales manager was found guilty of impropriety involving high-ranking officials in the Colombian and Venezuelan markets between 2009 and 2011.
The proceedings against the CEO and main shareholder of the firm were discontinued but he was ordered to pay a portion of the costs of the proceedings.
In a tweet posted on Tuesday, the National Assembly said it had decided to invoke Article 125 of the Constitution, which empowers it to summon any person to appear before it for the purpose of giving evidence or providing information.
However, the National Assembly has not accused SICPA of any wrongdoing.
It is not yet clear if SICPA’s conviction in April has in any way informed the summonses by Parliament or if it will be part of the agenda when the Swiss company appears before the Parliamentary committee in two weeks’ time.
Kenya Kwanza administration is seeking to raise more revenue and has promised to seal all loopholes that make it difficult for the taxman to collect optimal taxes. .
