Municipal Tax Authorities Map Major Storage Facilities Across the Capital Following Suspensions of Unlicensed Commission Agents and Brokers
By Staff Writer
(Nairobi, Kenya) — The Addis Ababa Revenue Bureau has announced plans to launch targeted warehouse inspections and door-to-door searches across the capital to locate vehicle importers who allegedly concealed inventory to evade recent regulatory actions against unlicensed car dealerships.
Municipal tax authorities confirmed that mapping teams have already identified and cataloged major vehicle storage facilities throughout the city, documenting their exact locations and inventory contents ahead of search operations.
The crackdown follows recent enforcement directives in which the Revenue Bureau suspended the operating permits of commission agents and brokers who had been running display auto yards without legitimate vehicle importer or primary dealership licenses. Under those orders, commission agents were instructed to return stored vehicles to authorized importers and limit their operations strictly to facilitating transactions for statutory brokerage fees.
Tax officials claimed that the unauthorized display and sale of vehicles by intermediary brokers distorted market competition, created severe revenue leakage, and placed law-abiding importers—who operate through fully licensed, taxable commercial premises—at a distinct competitive disadvantage.
Mohammed Abdurrahman, Deputy Head of the Legal Compliance Division at the Revenue Bureau, revealed plans to address what it called “persistent non-compliance.” A dedicated municipal task force will conduct warehouse raids, physical site inspections, and vehicle tracking to bring non-compliant importers into line.
Explaining the mechanics of the tax evasion scheme, Mohammed stated that “commission brokers routinely issued sales receipts reflecting valuations far below the actual purchase price.” Brokers then collected the remaining balance through separate bank transfers. Consequently, when buyers processed ownership transfers through the Driver and Vehicle Licensing and Control Authority, official records captured only the understated receipt amounts—depriving the city administration of substantial income and value-added tax revenues.
The Revenue Bureau called on “non-compliant importers” and brokers to voluntarily align their inventory with legal sales channels, warning that individuals caught concealing vehicles during upcoming task force inspections will face strict legal prosecution, administrative fines, and property impoundment under existing tax legislation.
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