A source at the Ministry of Finance has confirmed that a comprehensive investigation may be launched into the allegations of tax evasion and selling fake brands leveled against Oxygen Sport shop.

The source reacted to the allegations in response to an inquiry by Informanté related to complaints of unfair dealing at Oxygen shops and said that the Ministry cannot ignore complaints from the community without conducting a thorough investigation into the matter.
“The cargo company in Thailand and China makes the invoices for cheap prices so that when they arrive in Namibia via air cargo or containers the tax will be less, plus bribing of customs officials to close their eyes on the goods, because original brands never cost this cheap,” said the source, who presented a list of items and details of sales calculations.
In some of the sales calculations seen by Informanté, dated 31 May and 16 March 2011, there is no indication of tax deduction from total sales of N$218 500. It is suspected that fake merchandise imported from China and Thailand is being sold as genuine brands in Oxygen shops at Okahao, Etango and INM premises in Oshakati.
“These items are brought in through the port of Walvis Bay in containers from China and Thailand and we are also convinced that the owner does all he can to avoid paying tax to the government,” the finance official alleged.
Oxygen Sport shop’s owner, Nadri Mohamed Nadri, a Moroccan national, who wanted to know the source of the story, denied any wrongdoing. “We advise you to call the representative of brands we sell to take them to the laboratory and find out whether it is fake or genuine. About tax payment, you can call the Ministry of Finance which could provide more information than us,” Nadri said briefly.
The Namibia Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NCCI) Northern Branch spokesperson, Thomas Indji, said that the allegations are certainly worth investigating, but washed his hands of the matter.
“As you may be aware NCCI is not a regulatory body, but a membership institution. When it comes to members selling sub-standard stock, this should be dealt with by the Namibia Standards Institute. With regard to suspected tax evasion, that is the domain of the Ministry of Finance,” Indji explained.