Manufacturers and investors are set to reap benefits in the form of loans following the establishment of a new industrialisation policy.
The Department of Industry Principal Secretary (PS) Juma Mukhwana speaking on Thursday, April 4, noted that the government has set up an industrialisation kitty, from which investors can borrow money.
According to the PS, the kitty will be resourced from the money collected through the import levy, revised in June 2023.
Mukhwana further added that the government has thus far, collected Ksh200 million through the levy. The levy currently stands at 16 per cent of the Cost, Insurance and Freight and other applicable taxes.
“We are not going to stop you from importing, but we are going to tax it in such a way that the money we make can be used to create our local industries,” the PS noted.
Mukhwana further urged producers to expand the range of commodities manufactured in various factories in the country, to tap into markets outside Kenya.
“If you have a factory in Kenya, you must not produce commodities for Kenya. We have expanded the market, you can have a factory here but supply to the whole East African community.”
“If we expand the market to MSME, if we make the market more guaranteed, our businesses will grow well and we will be able to expand the tax business,” MSMEs Permanent Secretary (PS) Susan Mang’eni stated.
Introduced last year, the Export and Investment Promotion Levy (EIPL), levied on imports except from goods imported from the East African Community (EAC).
EIPL, aimed at promoting local manufacturing and investment, was set to generate revenue for the government and offer an opportunity to shift from overdependence on imports.
The Finance Act, of 2023 introduced the levy, which is now chargeable at 10 per cent and 17.5 per cent of the customs value of certain specified imported products.
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KMA) previously rejected the proposed amendment and the introduction of the Export and Investment Promotion Levy, citing a trickling of the prices down to the consumer already rippling with the high cost of living.
