- Allegedly diverted over K21m meant for ZRA remittance
CHOMBA MUSIKA
Lusaka
SOS Children’s Villages Zambia’s national accountant has been sued for allegedly diverting over K21 million meant to be remitted to the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) into his personal accounts.
The non-governmental organisation – which cares for vulnerable and abandoned children – wants Brian Mutonga to settle K21,949,584 pay as you earn (PAYE) that he failed to remit.
SOS also wants Mr Mutonga to pay K5,385,486.67 special damages in form of income tax and penalties it accumulated to the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA).
The penalties were accumulated because of Mr Mutonga’s breach of employment contract.
Further, the organisation seeks payment of exemplary and punitive damages and compensation for breach of expressed and implied terms and Chipata man 30 gets life imprisonmentfor killing uncle a red flag that the defendant conditions of contract.
In a statement of claim before the Lusaka High Court, SOS, which has cited Mr Mutonga as defendant, says he was employed on contract as national office accountant.
It submits that the defendant’s role involved ensuring preparation of the payroll schedule in relation to the plaintiff’s employees.
“….and ensuring that all statutory returns are effected to and submitted or paid on time.”
Sometime in 2021, it was discovered that from June 2015 to June 2021, in conducting his role of preparing payroll schedules, the defendant would correctly input into the payroll system the details of respective employees.
“However, he fraudulently, and in clear breach of his conditions of employment, in respect of remittance of income tax, [and] PAYE to the ZRA, the defendant would input his bank account number instead of that of the ZRA.”
“Consequently, the PAYE funds would be remitted to his personal bank account,” the court document reads in part.
SOS submits that it received made a false representation about PAYE, which was supposed to be remitted to ZRA from 2014 to 2021.
After internal investigations, SOS requested ZRA to undertake its own inquiries through a comprehensive audit, from January 2014 to August 2021, to establish the plaintiff’s PAYE tax compliance.
The audit report established that SOS had not remitted PAYE to ZRA and accumulated a K21,949,584 debt…https://enews.daily-mail.co.zm/welcome/home
