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Anerlisa’s Protest After Keroche Being Closed Again Over Tax Arrears

SK 2 years ago 2 min read

The tax dispute between Keroche Breweries and KRA has resurfaced, resulting in the factory’s closure due to new tax arrears demands.

KRA has shut down the Naivasha-based company for the sixth time in a year, leaving it with losses in the millions of shillings.

This time, the company accuses KRA of being used to fight it politically and has issued agency notices to all of its lenders.

Anerlisa, daughter and heiress to the Keroche breweries , took to her Instagram to protest. She posted;

“They say when it rains it pours. unfortunately, that is what has been happening on my family side but guess what we still hopeful for the future and still thank God for everything..”

KRA closed the brewery in March due to Sh300 million in tax arrears, but this was resolved a few weeks later with new and harsh terms and conditions.

CEO Tabitha Karanja and Heiress Anerlisa Muigai

Source; courtesy

According to the company’s CEO, Tabitha Karanja, the company’s efforts to seek more time to pay the arrears had hit a snag.

She told the press in the factory on Tuesday that over 400 workers were facing layoffs and that beer worth over Sh350 million could go to waste.

“KRA’s draconian measures against Keroche Breweries constitute a hostile exception to well-established government policies of investment promotion, job creation and support for value addition,” she said.

Tabitha accused KRA of acting in a scandalously oblivious manner to the need for business resilience in the face of a confluence of challenges.

“During the Covid-19 pandemic, the brewery was closed for two years because of the measures enforced to contain the spread of Covid-19 and we incurred tax arrears of Sh322m,” she said.

Karanja attributed her problems to her decision to enter politics through the UDA, adding that she would still run for the Nakuru senatorial seat.

“KRA is under tremendous pressure to place Keroche Breweries under existential jeopardy in order to retaliate against me for my interest in offering political leadership in Nakuru,” she said.

She questioned the move by KRA to issue agency notice to several banks noting that this had shut down all their operations and plans to get financial support.

“KRA has issued agency notices to the company’s bankers and instead of correctly notifying the banks of the Sh30m we owe, it gave a wrong figure of Sh558.7m,” she said.

She stated that this had caused the company prejudice, and that their efforts to obtain a hearing from top-level management at the KRA had been futile.

Karanja requested that the KRA halt the enforcement action that had shut down the company’s operations and conduct a review of the unsustainable payment plan.

“I plead with the KRA to afford us an opportunity to regain our footing as a manufacturer, employer and a local entity in order to sustainably meet all our obligations,” she said.