The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) now gets the green light from a court to enforce higher excise stamp fees for beer, bottled water, and cosmetics.

Tuesday, High Court judge Hedwig Ong’udi rejected a request by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) to halt the KRA from enforcing rules requiring more expensive security stamps.

The ruling opens the door for the taxman to keep requesting public input on the Excise Duty (Excise Products Management System) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023.
The cost of the products’ excise stamps will increase by up to four times if the proposed restrictions are put into effect.

Because the contested regulations had not yet become law, according to Judge Ong’undi, the dispute had been filed too early. Like other excise fees, producers and importers will probably pass the higher stamp prices on to the final consumer.

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“This court notes that the public notice dated January 17, 2023, issued by KRA on the regulations was a draft. Hence, the same is not yet finalized contrary to the petitioner’s allegations. The process is incomplete despite the contention of petitioners,” Justice Ong’udi stated.

“From a reading of the materials and pleadings, it is clear that public notice does not qualify as publication within the meaning of section 22 of the statutory instruments.”