Kenyans may still pay more for cooking oil and soap following a proposal where the Kenyan government might look to impose an import duty rate of 10% on crude palm oil.
In a gazette notice issued by the East African Community and dated June 30, it was communicated that Kenya is contemplating applying the duty rate for a period of 1 year.
Previously in the just-ended financial year 2023/ 2024 crude palm oil did not attract any import duty.
“Uganda and Kenya to stay application of the EAC CET rate of 0 per cent and apply a duty rate of 10 per cent for one year, read the gazette notice in part.
Crude palm oil is one of the main raw materials used in the manufacture of vegetable cooking oil in Kenya.
Additionally, palm oil is also a major raw material in the manufacture of bar soap, another common product used in Kenyan households.
Further, Kenya imports most of the crude palm oil used in Kenya’s manufacturing industry from Malaysia and Indonesia.
This predicted increase in costs comes even after the government withdrew the controversial Finance Bill of 2024 which had proposed an increase in taxes levied on cooking oil.
If effected, this will mean Kenyans may have to dig deeper into their pockets to afford the basic commodity.
Earlier on in the year, a foreign investor manufacturing cooking oil in the country had lamented about Kenyan taxation policies stating the business environment within the country was unpredictable and scaring away investors.
The investor whose company has been in operation for over 86 years in 14 countries pointed out that since he got into business, he had never experienced such a situation again describing Kenya as having the most unstable tax policies.
The manufacturer urged the government to stop taxing raw materials and instead tax the end product to lower the cost of manufacturing.
