Ruto’s economic planning committee proposes a tax increase on several goods (LIST)
The National Treasury and Economic Planning is proposing an increase in excise stamp (tax) in a bid to raise government revenue
The National Treasury and Economic Planning is proposing an increase in excise stamp (tax) in a bid to raise government revenue.
The Ministry of National Treasury, under the direction of Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, informed the public of the upcoming regulations in a statement.
Among the products to be affected by the proposal include cigarettes from Ksh 2.8 to Ksh 5.0, fruit juices from Ksh 0.6 to Ksh 2.2, and cosmetics from Ksh 0.6 to Ksh 2.5.
“Every package of excisable goods manufactured or imported into Kenya listed in the first schedule to the regulations shall be affixed with an excise stamp,” read part of the statement.
Among the products that will see a jump in excise stamp fees include;
The excise stamp cost for cigarettes, cigars, cheroots, cigarillos, and electronic cigarettes that contain tobacco or tobacco substitutes will be Ksh 5 per stamp.
Wines, including fortified wines, other alcoholic beverages made from fruit fermentation, and compounded spirits with an alcohol content higher than 6% will be charged a Ksh 5 stamp fee.
Cosmetics and beauty products of tariff heading Nos. 3303, 3304, 3305, and 3307 would be subjected to a Ksh 2.5 fee per stamp.
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Spirituous drinks having an alcohol content of no more than 6%, beer, cider, perry, mead, opaque beer, and concoctions of fermented drinks and non-alcoholic drinks will be subject to a Ksh 3 per stamp cost.
Bottled or similarly, packaged waters were retained at Ksh 0.5 fee per stamp.
Notably, fruit juices (including grape must), and vegetable juices, unfermented and not containing added spirit, (whether or not containing added sugar) or other sweetening matter would be billed at Ksh 2.2 per stamp.
The same applied to other non-alcoholic beverages, not including fruit and vegetable juices would be charged the same as fruit juices.
In October 2022, President William Ruto directed a stop to the pilferage arising from revenues collected from excise stamps.
He observed that the tax agency was only selling 2.9 billion excise stamps against a projected 12 billion.
“We should be selling between 10 billion and 12 billion stamps but that is not happening currently,” he noted.
The government has been banking on the new generation of excise stamps to curb counterfeiting and seal revenue leaks.
In 2022, there were concerns that the Kenyan retail market was flooded with fake excise stamps, which was fuelling the growth of illicit trade, mainly on excisable goods.
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