UCZ To Pay ZRA 0ver K10 Million (Read)
UCZ Busted: ZRA Moves In To Collect K10.7 Million After Court Slams Tax Games. United Chemicals Zambia Limited just learned the hard way that tax gymnastics don’t impress the courts.
The Zambia Revenue Authority is officially moving in to recover over K10.7 million from UCZ after the Economic and Financial Crimes Court in Ndola said, in simple terms, “enough is enough.” The ruling follows UCZ’s own guilty plea to eight counts of furnishing false tax returns, meaning this wasn’t a misunderstanding, a typo, or “the accountant’s fault.” This was a full-blown numbers remix.
According to ZRA’s Corporate Communications Manager Oliver Nzala, the mess happened between July 2022 and March 2023, when UCZ allegedly played creative games with export figures for cooking oil headed to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company declared exports as zero-rated, claiming sales worth over K19.1 million, conveniently dodging VAT in the process. The result? A VAT loss to the State of more than K10.7 million.
And no, this wasn’t swept under the rug.
The court ordered UCZ to cough up the full K10.7 million, slapped them with an additional K40,000 fine payable within 14 days, and made sure they also refunded the State K400,000 in prosecution costs. That last one, at least, has already been settled small comfort in a very expensive lesson.
This case is a loud reminder that ZRA is no longer just watching from the sidelines while companies try to moonwalk around tax laws. The message is clear: if you lie on paper, expect the truth to catch up with interest.
Nzala didn’t mince words either. He warned taxpayers to comply with tax laws unless they enjoy courtrooms, fines, asset seizures, and the very real possibility of imprisonment. He also encouraged the public to report tax malpractices, because every kwacha dodged by one company is a burden shifted onto everyone else.
At a time when the country desperately needs revenue for development, hospitals, roads, and schools, schemes like this don’t just hurt ZRA they hurt Zambia.
ZRA says it remains committed to hunting down economic crimes wherever they hide, and judging by this ruling, that commitment now comes with receipts, court orders, and a very expensive bill.
Moral of the story?
Pay your taxes, or ZRA will eventually come to collect with the law on speed dial.
