A whistleblower has taken the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority and its Commissioner-General, Faith Mazani to court after the Authority extended an amnesty to a company that had evaded $2.4 million tax.
The move is reported to have prejudiced the whistleblower of the 10% that could have come if ZIMRA had recovered the money.
The whistleblower, Geoffrey Masunda, filed on July 17, seeking the court’s intervention to recover the whistleblower allowance “due to him” for unearthing the scam by Glidwell Trading (PVT) Ltd T/A Bhola Hardware.
The whistleblower facility was introduced by Section 34B of the Revenue Act. Part of Section 34B(2) of the same Act reads:
The Commissioner-General may, with the approval of the Minister, award to any person not being an employee of the Authority or a near-relative of any employee of the Authority, a monetary reward for information provided or any measure taken which results in detection of smuggling or any other offence. . .
Masunda argues that he risked his life by gathering the information and by exposing the company’s fraud. He also contends that the procedure followed by ZIMRA in granting the amnesty was flawed. Masunda said:
It should be borne in mind that when the Commissioner-General granted amnesty to Bhola Hardware, there was already an existing running contract entered into between Zimra, duly represented by the Commissioner-General, and the Whistleblower/Applicant.
More: Sunday Mail
Its waste of time as the reward is at the instance of approval by minister.Its not a sole prerogative of the commissioner g.The tax man has the discretion on valid reasons to waiver any sanctions upon a defaulter.The is no danger upon whistle blower except on this,his own exposure.