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Fidelis Munyoro Chief Court Reporter
THREE car dealers from Harare have been ordered to refund a Chinese national the US$10 400 he was forced to pay in customs duty for a Toyota Fortuner that was fraudulently imported into the country.
The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority seized the Toyota Fortuner sold to Mr Feng Li in December 2019 after it turned out that it had been fraudulently brought into the country.
Tawanda Mutare, Zvikomborero Gomera and Kudzai Leo Marowa sold Mr Li the tainted vehicle. The three operate at Enterprise Car Sales in Harare.
Mr Li found himself in trouble when he approached Southerton Police in December 2019 to have the vehicle cleared for his trip to Mozambique.
The police impounded the vehicle on the grounds that customs duty had not been paid and handed the vehicle over to Zimra.
After that, Mr Li approached the trio over the issue, but they refused to pay the amount owed to Zimra.
The vehicle was only released after Mr Li paid the duty, penalties and storage charges amounting to US$10 403.
In a bid to recover his money, Mr Li sued Mutare, Gomera and Marowa.
Justice Gladys Mhuri found merit in Mr Li’s claim and ruled in his favour. She ordered the trio to pay Mr Li the US$ 10 403 he had to shell out to get his car back.
In their defence, the trio claimed that they sold the vehicle as Ngonidzashe Taguta’s agents.
They argued that as agents, they were not liable for the transaction they did on behalf of their principal.
Justice Mhuri heavily criticised the three for fighting the complainant in a matter that could have been settled out of court.
For putting such an unwarranted fight before the court, Justice Mhuri hit the trio with costs on an attorney-client scale.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter