Nakuamatt Kampala branch along Acacia Avenue. monitor.co.ugThe Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has taken over control of Nakumatt Supermarkets main warehouse, as it seeks to recover $86,000 (about Sh8.6 million) in unpaid taxes.
URA officials took over the Kampala-based warehouse, which is also the retail chain’s headquarters in Uganda.
The revenue body later took over the retail chain’s three stores in Kampala as part of the revenue recovery effort.
URA said its action means it will appropriate all the income Nakumatt makes from the five outlets until the tax arrears are fully paid.
Doris Akol, the URA commissioner-general according to Business Daily, declined to comment on the matter.
Nakumatt, which is facing a crisis due to a mountain of debt and delays in securing an investor, has since the January closed several stores in Uganda and Kenya.
In Uganda, aggrieved suppliers and landlords have sued the retail chain seeking to recover about Sh515 million in unpaid invoices and rent arrears.
Uganda’s minster for veterans, Bright Rwamirama, in mid-June took Nakumatt to court seeking to be paid Sh58.6 million in rent arrears he, and other partners, are claiming from the retailer for use of their premises in Mbarara Western Uganda.
Knight Frank Uganda, the property manager of the Acacia Mall, Village Mall and Victoria Mall, where Nakumatt rents, took over their space on June 28, saying the retailer was “not adding much value to the three shopping malls.”
URA’s decision to take control of the retailer’s Ugandan operations, and give itself first priority on all income, is set to exacerbate Nakumatt’s troubles with other creditors who are already short on patience.