The High Court in Nairobi has ruled that Senior Counsel and former Law Society of Kenya President, Nelson Andayi Havi, through his law firm Havi & Company Advocates, is liable to pay tax arrears following a long-running dispute with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
The dispute arose after KRA issued additional assessments covering January 2015 to September 2023, and subsequently declined to issue Havi a Tax Compliance Certificate (TCC) citing unpaid income tax and Value Added Tax (VAT).
Background of the Case
Havi challenged KRA’s decision before the Tax Appeals Tribunal (TAT), arguing that the taxman’s assessments were inconsistent, time-barred under the Tax Procedures Act (TPA), and in some cases legally deemed allowed.
On January 12, 2025, the TAT dismissed his case, finding that Havi’s objections were filed outside the statutory timelines under Section 51 of the TPA. Objections to KRA’s decisions of February 2021, filed in April and May 2021, were ruled time-barred. Later responses filed in 2022 were also deemed invalid.
As a result, the Tribunal concluded it lacked jurisdiction to hear the case and struck out Havi’s appeal, upholding KRA’s demand and agency notices.
The Appeal to the High Court
Dissatisfied with the outcome, Havi appealed to the High Court on 14 grounds, challenging both the TAT judgment and KRA’s assessments.
The High Court isolated four key issues:
- The competence of Havi’s TAT appeal.
- The validity of objections to KRA’s February 2021 and April 2022 decisions.
- Whether KRA’s subsequent decisions between August and October 2023 were appealable.
- The legal status of an objection filed on October 3, 2024.
High Court’s Ruling
In its judgment, the Court upheld KRA’s statutory powers and timelines under the TPA. While acknowledging that Havi’s appeal was competently filed, the Court found that his late objection of July 19, 2022, filed nearly a month after being granted an extension deadline of June 22, 2022, was irregular and therefore null and void.
Quoting its reasoning, the Court held:
“In short, the court cannot be called upon to enforce an act which is a nullity, since it is void and every proceeding founded on it is also in law a nullity.”
The Court therefore ruled that KRA’s tax demands and assessments for the period January 2015 to October 2023 remain valid, and that the arrears are payable by the Senior Counsel.
Implications
The decision marks a significant affirmation of KRA’s enforcement powers, particularly the strict timelines under the Tax Procedures Act governing objections and appeals.
For Havi, a prominent figure in Kenya’s legal and political landscape, the ruling underscores the mounting pressure on professionals and corporates to maintain compliance with KRA’s tax regimes.
