Turkish firm in SGR project defends reputation

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The company said in a statement that it also owes no outstanding taxes in relation to the goods it has imported for the Dar-Dodoma SGR project.

Dar es Salaam. The Turkish company building the standard gauge railway in Tanzania says it has cleared its goods that were said to be stranded at the Dar es Salaam port.

The company said in a statement that it also owes no outstanding taxes in relation to the goods it has imported for the Dar-Dodoma SGR project.

“We have no outstanding payments in form of tariffs or duties or levies due to TRA (Tanzania Revenue Authority),” it said. The statement was in responce to a story published in The Citizen showing the company among several others whose goods were reported by TRA as stranded at the Dar port.

The story was based on public notice by the tax man asking the listed firms to clear the said goods from the port in 30 days or risk them being auctioned.

Neither the TRA notice nor the story by The Citizen implied that the Turkish firm, Yapi Merekezi Insaat ve Sanayi Sirketi, owed any taxes. The notice, according to TRA, is procedural and often used as a reminder to compananies whose goods have overstayed at the customs.

The Turkish company said yesterday that it was operating in full compliance to the regulations, procedures and legislation in Tanzania. It noted that the host government “values justice and respects the rule of law.”

According to the firm, the goods which were meant for the SGR had been cleared befor the publishing of the notice by TRA on May 12, this year. “we are carrying out our contractual obligations as per the schedule,” it said, pointing to its long experience at delivering projects in a professional manner.