The High Court in Lautoka has ordered that a departure prohibition order (DPO) remain in place until a New Zealand citizen pays $131,911.18 in outstanding tax to Fiji Revenue and Customs Service.
Justice Mohamed Mackie found Nikola Milenkovic was the director of the company Solid Concrete Pte Ltd from October 31, 2018 after the death of his father who founded the company.
“The evidence before the court, uncontrovertibly, proves that the plaintiff was a director of the company during the time material (from 2018 to August 23, 2022) for the assessment of the tax, which now left unpaid by the plaintiff as the “Representative” of the company,” Justice Mackie said in his ruling.
“The fact that the assessed tax was in relation to the period he functioned as a director of the company, remained unchallenged.
“The plaintiff, who was a director of the company during the time material, cannot take up a position that he is not a director and has no interest in the company now or when the DPO was issued on 14th October 2022.
“The tax liability of the company concerned remains unfulfilled by the plaintiff as a representative of the company.
“The DPO clearly states the amount payable by the company. The DPO was in sufficient compliance of the relevant section, and delivered to the defendant at the earliest possible opportunity.
He did not have a permanent address in Fiji for the DPO to be served at.
“The plaintiff’s liability, as a representative of the company, to pay and settle the debt to the defendant remains intact.
The departure prohibition order dated 14th October, 2022 will remain in force with no necessity for amendment, till the arrears of tax is settled in full.”
