Selling of bottled water, juices, energy drinks, soda and other non-alcoholic beverages manufactured or imported into the country after January 31 will land you in prison or pay fines.
This is after Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) issued a notice for the new excise duty being implemented, a move which will see commodities start being taxed by January 31.
“KRA reminds all licensed manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers and general public that all bottled water, juices, energy drinks soda and other non-alcoholic beverages manufactured in or imported into Kenya from 13th November 2019 must be affixed with an Excise Stamp in compliance with Section 28 of Excise Duty Act 2015 and Legal Notice 53 of 30th March 2017 (Excisable Goods Management System Regulations) as earlier notified through a Public Notice issued on 28th October 2019,” said KRA in a notice.
All manufacturers and importers of bottled water, juices, energy drinks, soda and other non-alcoholic beverages will be required to take full account of products manufactured or imported into Kenya prior to November 13, 2019.
According to the taxman, these are products which do not have excise stamps in their stores and will be required to submit the stocks to the nearest Tax Service Office by 31″ January 2020.
“Any persons found in the possession of bottled water, juices, energy drinks, soda and other non-alcoholic beverages manufactured or imported into Kenya on or after 13th November 2019 not bearing an excise stamp will lead to seizure of all listed products in their possession, and offenders will be prosecuted,” noted KRA.
In mid-November last year, KRA started piloting Excisable Goods Management System (EGMS) on bottled water, juices, energy drinks, soda, and other non-alcoholic beverage food supplements and cosmetics.
Excise stamps are fixed to excisable goods to indicate that the required excise tax has been paid by the manufacturer before the sale.
This is KRA’S second phase with the first one having been concluded in 2013, and was reached upon after they held an extensive engagement with the stakeholders of the goods.
The exercise is expected to net more revenues for KRA from excisable goods and help fight counterfeit products in the country, at the same time deter smuggling of goods.
The rollout of EGMS in the water sector will affect about 450 companies out of which 64 production lines are automated and the rest are manual. The installation on the automated line will be concluded before the go-live date.
This will provide a level playing ground for all local manufacturers and importers of goods to ensure they all contribute equally to tax.
The requirement to affix stamps on excisable goods is underpinned under the excise duty Act 2015.
