DlAS vs. COMMISSIONER GENERAL OF INLAND REVENUE – sllr 2011 volume 2 page 015

In the case between DIAS (Managing Director of Multisacks Pvt. Co., Petitioner) and the Commissioner General of Inland Revenue (Respondent), the court addressed the issue of whether a Managing Director or principal officer may be held vicariously liable for a company’s unpaid income tax in the absence of clear and specific statutory authority. It was held that, under the relevant statutory provisions, there is no basis to impose personal liability on the Managing Director in the absence of express language permitting such liability, reaffirming the principle that vicarious liability of company officers for company tax cannot be presumed. This decision relied on analysis of sections 149(1) and 166 of the Inland Revenue Act No. 38 of 2000, earlier provisions such as section 62 of the Income