Premier Tobacco Company Ltd (PTC) belongs to the family of late mogul Assinapol Rwigara.
The auction was scheduled today and interested buyers were present at the factory’s premises located in Gikondo industrial area in Kigali but Bailiff Védaste Habimana who chairs the auction announced the postponement.
Habimana first asked if there had been anyone from Rwigara’s family but none displayed the presence despite the presence of the family’s son. Anne Rwigara who is usually the coordinator of the family’s business was absent.
“The auction is not taking place today because the leadership of PTC was not contented with the property valuation; we have therefore postponed until next Monday at 11.00am in order letting PTC use its legal rights of opposing the valuation. PTC is allowed those rights and they will have given us their valuation by then,” said Habimana.
Media asked Habimana the value that was rejected by PTC and he said, “That is all I had to tell you, those who wanted to buy in the auction and journalists that I am seeing here. The available information is all that, no more.”
The auction of unspecified number of tobacco processing machines will also take place at the factory in order to recover the balance on tax arrears amounting to Rwf6 billion evaded in the period spanning from 2012 to 2017, according to RRA.
The auction of the factory’s machinery follows yet another of March 28 in which the factory’s tobacco amounting to 7,195 cartons were auctioned at Rwf512 million to Murado Business Ltd.
At the auction, however, the Rwigara family was not contented with the Rwf512 million, saying the tobacco had a value of around Rwf1 billion but Bailiff Habimana who presided over the auction said all was in line with the laws.
Anne Rwigara said the auction was conducted illegally and had earlier tried to challenge the seizing of the tobacco stocks and other properties in Nyarugenge Commercial Court which ruled in favour of RRA.
Speaking to IGIHE immediately after the previous auction, RRA Commissioner General, Richard Tusabe had said that RRA would auction more Rwigaras’ properties to recover the balance on the tax arrears.
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