NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 7 – The Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA’s) fight on illicit trade has netted goods worth Sh897.24 million in the current financial year (2023-2024) that would have otherwise been sold to unsuspecting Kenyans.
The taxman says that the above intervention applied to 976 cases in the country.
The high seizure comes after KRA heightened surveillance aimed at eradicating the production and sale of illicit liquor, which followed a government crackdown on illicit brews, drugs, and substance abuse.
KRA Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga said that KRA has stationed its officers at all excisable goods manufacturing plants to enhance compliance with the law.
He added that the excise duty regulations allow KRA to station its officers at factories producing excise-tax-covered goods such as beer, wines and spirits, cigarettes, mineral water, soft drinks, and juices, among others.
The officers, also known as resident staff, implement compliance, service support, and enforcement initiatives, including disclosure of any irregularities and discrepancies to ensure correct payment and filing of excise taxes by the manufacturers.
Wattanga said that the staff complements other monitoring measures, such as CCTV cameras inside factories wired to the KRA system, to enhance security.
The KRA boss spoke before the Senate Standing Committee on Trade, Industrialization, and Tourism.
The tax collector was responding to a petition tabled before the Senate asking the authority to provide information on what it is doing to enforce tax compliance at manufacturers like EABL.
KRA noted that there are no variations in manufacturing ingredients that have tax implications dating back to 5 years.
It was reported that Kenya Breweries Limited contributed over 60 percent of domestic excise collections in the full years 2021/22 and 2022/23.
KRA added that it continues to collaborate with other government agencies within the multi-agency framework to promote legitimate trade and protect society against harmful products such as illicit alcohol through various operations, border patrols, surveillance, and monitoring of cargo.
