Excise Duty Increase temporarily stopped

By CORRESPONDENT, NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 30 – The High Court has suspended a gazette notice imposing excise duty on bottled water, juices, soda, other non-alcoholic beverages, and cosmetics.

The said goods whether imported or manufactured locally were to be affixed with excise stamps from Wednesday, November 1.

The temporary order has been issued by Judge John Mativo following a case lodged by human rights activist Okiya Omtatah.

In the case, Omtatah has sued the Treasury CS, Kenya Revenue Authority’s Commissioner General John Njiraini and Switzerland based firm called SICPA Securities.

The Gazette notice in question was published on October 3.

According to Omtatah, the notice is contrary to directions of the Public Investments Committee of the 11th parliament which suspended implementation of excisable goods management systems by the sued parties pending conclusion of investigations in the National Assembly.

In June, a petition was filed before the National Assembly by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance(Kepsa) and is still under investigations.

Justice Mativo has given KRA and The Treasury 21 days to respond to the petition
https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2017/10/high-court-suspends-excise-stamp-duty-soft-drinks/

Sasa Maji na cosmetics zinawekwa stamp? hii Serikali yetu ni kukamua kila senti.

wamesota lazima watufute pesa

Lakini sisi ndo tunataka mega-projects and free stuff…even though zingine hazimake sense kama dualling Nairobi - Mombasa road

Buda boss, hakuna kitu kama sisi. Kuna those pushing for the projects and the rest have no say in the matter.

Lol…then kwa nini tunavote?.. most of yhis projects eg free education is for the public

Free education is what is known as ‘throwing you a bone’. Ask any well placed individual in the civil service why development projects are as popular as they are. By well-placed I mean relatively mid/low-ranking individuals with signatures that matter.

kra already has a large deficit, hio hesabu this financial year haiwezi ingiana

The government should cut us some slack. We are already paying too much taxes. Alafu enyewe courts have become the ultimate pain in the ass to the government, hehehe.

The items you have mentioned already have excise duty. Its fixation of stamps that was temporarily stopped as there is a case going on about the procurement of the stamps and all. Actually fixing stamps on cosmetics, non-alcoholic beverages will be good in dealing with counterfeits. Some of the juices you people drink are counterfeits…and the “manufacturing” process is worrying.

Kila tax inakuanga na objective yake: cosmetics walisema bei lazima iende juu ndio serikali ipigane na increase in cases of cancer brought by counterfeits. Maji ya chupa pia tuliambio Momanyi, Kamau, Otieno, Mutua, Koech, Yusuf na wengineo wanachota maji ya tap bila ata kuboil na wanaweka kwa chupa poorly recycled na kuwauzia wakenya at the cost of 3 balls and a D, so lazima pia bei iende juu

I agree with that. One of the functions of taxation is to protect. Local industries, consumers and so on. Cosmetics containing harmful parabens have found their way to our markets.