Bottled water and beer are among 14 items whose prices are set to increase from Wednesday, March 5, following the gazettement of the Excise Duty Excisable Goods Management System Amendment Regulations, 2023.
In the regulations gazetted by Treasury Cabinet Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u, new excise stamp fees were published.
Bottled water will now have a new exercise stamp of Ksh0.5 per stamp while a Ksh3 per stamp fee was imposed on beers, ciders and mixtures of fermented beverages.
Other products which were included in the list were fruit juices, cigars, cigarettes, compounded spirits, electronic cigarettes, liquid nicotine, wines, cosmetics and beauty products.
"In the list are products containing nicotine or nicotine substitutes intended for inhalation without combustion or oral application but excluding medicinal products approved by the Cabinet Secretary responsible for matters relating to health," read the regulations in part.
Spirituous beverages of an alcoholic strength not exceeding 6 per cent and compounded spirits of alcoholic strength exceeding 6 per cent were also included in the list.
"Regulation 3 of the Excise Duty (Excisable Goods Management System) Regulations, 2017 hereinafter referred to as the principal Regulations, is amended by deleting paragraph (1) and replacing it with the following new paragraph.
"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 the regulations in part.
In the new charges, cigars, cigarettes and electronic cigarettes were the most affected with a new exercise fee of Ksh5 per stamp.
Stamps for wines and spirits were also set at Ksh5 per stamp while those of other non-alcoholic beverages will be charged at Ksh2.2 per stamp.
The move by Treasury aims at helping the government raise more revenue to finance the budget.
President William Ruto challenged the taxman to collect Ksh3 trillion by the end of the 2023/24 financial year.
