Blow to NCBA Group as court declines to suspend ruling on NIC merger tax exemption

Justice Chacha Mwita said the bank had not shown that it would face irreparable loss if the judgment is enforced, pending appeal.

Earlier this year, the High Court ruled the stamp duty waiver unconstitutional and illegal, saying it violated both the Stamp Duty Act and the Constitution. NCBA then moved to halt the ruling, maintaining the waiver was lawfully granted in the public interest, a position supported by the National Treasury. 

Senator Okiya Omtatah, who filed the case, argued the exemption lacked parliamentary approval and breached public finance laws.

The ruling could now force NCBA to pay over KSh.384 million in stamp duty to the Kenya Revenue Authority, unless the Court of Appeal intervenes