Table of Contents
Key Points
- The review uncovered unpaid taxes totaling $12 million, money the government says should have been paid but was previously exempted.
- Raval’s Voi iron plant stalled amid a land dispute with county officials, threatening the $85 million project’s future.
- Kenya reviews $116 million in tax relief to 14 firms, including Devki, amid rising scrutiny of politically linked business advantages.
Kenyan steel and cement tycoon Narendra Raval is facing mounting setbacks on multiple fronts, as tax troubles and a land dispute threaten key parts of his industrial empire.
Raval, the founder of Devki Group, recently lost a crucial mining levy concession after Kenya’s Auditor-General raised red flags over what was deemed an unfair advantage granted to his company, National Cement. The audit findings have revealed unpaid taxes amounting to Ksh1.6 billion ($12 million), money the government says his firms should have paid but were previously exempted from.
Kenya audit spurs tax crackdown
The tax break had allowed National Cement to pay a lower levy, Ksh100 per tonne of cement, while competitors were charged Ksh140. This difference sparked backlash from industry rivals and drew the attention of both the Auditor-General and Parliament, which concluded that the value-added tax (VAT) waivers granted to Raval’s companies lacked proper legal approval.
By late 2024, the Kenyan National Treasury moved to cancel several long-standing tax exemptions. Among those affected were Devki Steel Mills Ltd and Cemtech Ltd, both part of Raval’s business network.
The waivers, first issued in 2015 and 2020, were originally meant to encourage local manufacturing by easing costs on imported machinery. But a review by the Treasury found the waivers were issued without legal authority. That prompted the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to demand immediate payment of the disputed taxes, along with penalties and interest.
Kenya's Devki challenges tax waiver reversal
The move didn’t go unchallenged. Devki took the fight to the Mombasa High Court, accusing the Treasury and the Kenya Revenue Authority of acting unlawfully. The company argued it had made significant investment decisions based on the tax exemptions and claimed that the government’s sudden reversal went against their legitimate expectations. They insisted the waivers were granted in good faith, and that pulling them back was both unfair and disruptive.
Still, the government has stood its ground. Officials maintain the exemptions were never legally sound to begin with. The dispute has unfolded in parallel with a parliamentary probe into nearly Ksh15 billion ($116 million) in VAT relief granted to 14 manufacturers, including Devki. The investigation has stirred criticism that politically connected business figures like Raval may be getting special treatment, skewing competition and costing the country valuable revenue.
Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has not minced words. She’s warned that granting tax waivers without a proper legal basis could open the floodgates to abuse. In her view, the government has a duty to enforce tax laws consistently and ensure that no firm, no matter how influential, gets a free pass. Her comments appear to have influenced the government’s decision to revoke the waivers and prompted lawmakers to tighten oversight.
Family-built empire faces new hurdles
The tax battle is not the only headache for Raval right now. Less than a year after launching an $85 million iron ore pelletization plant in Voi, Taita Taveta County, the project has stalled, this time due to a land ownership dispute.
Devki says it signed a 45-year lease for 14,500 acres with a faction of the Kishushe Ranching Cooperative Society. But the Taita Taveta County Government has come out publicly to reject that deal. The disagreement has thrown the future of the Voi plant into uncertainty and added to the pile of legal and political problems now dogging the group.
It’s a sharp turn for a business that started modestly—just Raval and his wife running a small steel outfit in Nairobi back in 1986. Over the years, it grew into one of the biggest producers of construction materials across East and Central Africa.
Through companies like Devki Steel Mills, National Cement, and Simba Cement, Raval’s group has been central to Kenya’s push to rely less on imports and build more at home. But with court cases piling up and mounting questions over tax incentives and land deals, the spotlight on Raval’s business empire has never been more intense.
