Company fined for keeping business records in Chinese language

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A SUSPECTED foreign-owned company Loud Shout Investment (Pvt) Ltd of Bulawayo was on Monday fined $200 for contravening the Income Tax Act Chapter 23:06 by keeping its business records in the Chinese Mandarin language.

A SUSPECTED foreign-owned company Loud Shout Investment (Pvt) Ltd of Bulawayo was on Monday fined $200 for contravening the Income Tax Act Chapter 23:06 by keeping its business records in the Chinese Mandarin language.

STAFF REPORTER

John Usayi, who was representing the company situated along Robert Mugabe Way in Bulawayo, pleaded guilty to the charge when he appeared before Bulawayo magistrate Merlyn Mutshina.

Mutshina convicted the company and fined it $200. The court heard that Loud Shout Investment failed to keep its records in the English language, but used Mandarin instead for 2013.

It is the State’s case that the company was supposed to keep all its business records in proper books and all accounts of transactions in English as enshrined in the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra) Income Tax Act, but it decided to keep all records in Chinese.

This was done without the authority of a competent court or the commissioner-general thereby contravening Section 81 (1) (a) of the Act.

This was established by a Zimra revenue specialist in the audit section when he visited the company and asked to see its records.

The company, which started operating this year, is registered for customs duty, income tax and Pay As you Earn.

It emerged in court that the company makes a profit of $4 000 every month.