Businessmen charged with issuance of false fiscal receipts
FOUR businessmen appeared before the Ilala District Court in Dar es Salaam charged with six counts of issuing false fiscal receipts.
The four are accused of causing Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) to suffer a pecuniary loss of some 592.3m/- and misleading the Commissioner General.
The accused are Salum Mbegu (38) a resident of Majohe Mji Mpya, Peter Ntikula (27) from Buguruni in Dar es Salaam and Baraka Ntikula (37) a resident of Mkuranga and Hamad Hamad in Coast region.
They were not allowed to enter plea to the charges because they fall under the Economic and Organised Crime Control Act.
The Magistrates Incharge, Susan Kihawa, informed the accused person that her court lacked jurisdiction to entertain anything, including bail as the offence of money laundering is not bailable and the proper court vested with jurisdiction to try the case in the economic, corruption and organised crime is High Court’s Division.
Under the circumstances, the magistrate ordered the accused persons to go to remand until October 30, this year when the case will be mentioned because the investigations are incomplete.
Senior State Attorney Glory Mwenda assisted with Upendo Mono, Medalakini Emmanuel and Hauni Chilamula told the court that on diverse dates between 2018 and 3rd October 2023 at Buguruni Kisiwani area within llala District in Dar es Salaam, the accused persons intentionally organised a criminal racket by using electronic fiscal device in a manner that mislead the system or the commissioner and issuing of false fiscal receipts.
It is alleged that, within the same period, all accused person did use electronic fiscal devices by reducing illegal fiscal receipts uploaded in the System of TRA to enhance other taxpayers to claim for reimbursement of the Value Added Tax amounting to some 592.3m/- from the Commissioner General being the revenue of TRA.
The court heard that in the same timeframe the accused at Buguruni Kisiwani issued false fiscal receipts from the Electronic Fiscal Devices with intent to defraud Commissioner General the act which is contrary to the Law.
In the fourth count, it is alleged that Mr Mbegu, Mr Ntiluka and Mr Baraka were found in possession of five Electronic Fiscal Devices with serial number 03TZ843047351, 03TZ843021655, 03TZ843046877, 03TZ843040838 and 02TZ229317 which are suspected to have been unlawfully obtained.
Additionally, it is alleged that all accused person jointly engaged in transaction involving money amounting to 592.3m/- only while they knew that the said money was proceeds of predicate offence namely leading organised crime.
