Court rules vehicles used in tax evasion liable to requisition
Justice Diana Kavedza held that once a person is convicted of bringing in goods without paying duty to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the vehicle involved ceases to be private property
Motorists who use their vehicles to smuggle goods into Kenya without paying taxes now risk losing them permanently after the High Court ruled that such property is liable to requisition.
Justice Diana Kavedza held that once a person is convicted of bringing in goods without paying duty to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the vehicle involved ceases to be private property and becomes a state asset.
She faulted a magistrate’s court for releasing a vehicle to its owner despite a conviction, saying the law is clear that conviction alone renders such property forfeited.
“The vehicle, therefore, ceased to be subject to private claim and became condemned in law upon conviction. The trial court’s failure to consider this statutory consequence was a material misdirection,” Justice Kavedza ruled.
The case involved a Toyota Mark II that was to be handed back to its owner, Moses Wanjau Gichuki, despite his conviction for possession of uncustomed goods.
The car itself also lacked valid importation and registration documents. Justice Kavedza directed that the vehicle remains in lawful custody pending formal forfeiture proceedings.
The ruling is anchored on Section 211 of the East African Community Customs Management Act, 2004, which makes vessels, aeroplanes, and motor vehicles used to transport uncustomed or counterfeit goods both evidence in court and liable to forfeiture.
This is not the first time courts have intervened in such cases.
Last year, the High Court in Kakamega overturned a magistrate’s decision to release a truck seized while offloading Sh26 million worth of contraband cigarettes.
In that matter, the trial court had allowed the truck’s return to its owner, but the High Court ruled it was an exhibit and part of the crime.
Likewise, in May this year, Justice Magare Kizito in Nyeri suspended an order releasing a Toyota Voxy to a suspect charged with ferrying goods worth Sh7 million without paying taxes.
KRA’s Acting Commissioner for Investigations and Enforcement, Levi Mukhweso, has since warned transporters, drivers, and traders to ensure they have proper importation and excise documentation when moving goods.
He urged businesses to source products from licensed manufacturers and maintain full records such as invoices, ETR receipts, and delivery notes.
