Expedite Lake Petroleum investigations, ZRA told

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 10:05:49 +0000

By BENNIE MUNDANDO

THERE is need for the Revenue Authority of Zambia (ZRA) to update the public and expedite investigations into the illegal importation of fuel by Lake Petroleum, says Petroleum Transporters Association of Zambia (PTAZ).

PTAZ secretary general Benson Tembo told the Daily Nation that there was need for ZRA to keep the public informed over the matter because it was of national interest.

Mr. Tembo said Zambia Union of Tanker Drivers and Allied Workers (ZUTDAW) acted in good faith when it alerted government about what was happening and that such efforts would be betrayed if the public was kept in the dark on how far the investigations had gone.

“We expected that by now, Zambians would have known whether the company managed to submit the documents it was supposed to submit or not and whether the investigations had started or not to foster public confidence in the matter,” Mr. Tembo said.

Earlier last month, a source at ZRA told the Daily Nation it was almost impossible for Lake Petroleum to avoid punishment as it was not possible to present all the documents needed to prove that it was not involved in any illegality. “Lake Oil needs to present a lot of documents. Firstly, that depot in Kapiri Mposhi is not theirs but for liquidated Continental Oil. They have to produce a lease agreement. The company also needs to give us a valid ERB licence for their business and avail us with all the details of the tankers that have been offloading there and where they were getting the fuel from.

“All this information is needed within 15 days, failure to which all their property, including the fuel they have imported will be seized by government and sold after 45 days and the premises will remain closed until the investigations are over so that there is no adulteration of the evidence, “From the look of things, this could be the end of its business in Zambia because they won’t manage to meet all these benchmarks,” the source said.

The company was allegedly smuggling in the fuel by using government bonds, and was avoiding tax by claiming that the commodity was destined for TAZAMA Pipelines when that was not the case.