Tanzanian glass manufacturer Kioo Company Ltd has taken the Kenya Revenue Authority to the East African Court of Justice following the introduction of a 25 per cent excise duty imposed on imported glass.
In the application, Kioo claims Kenya recently enacted the Business Laws (Amendment) Act 2020, which amended Kenya Excise Duty Act 2015 by introducing excise duty on imported glass at a rate of 25 per cent with effect from March 18, 2020.
Tanzania further claims that the 25 per cent duty on its glass bottles into Kenya is being incurred by her customers in Kenya, thereby making the business uncompetitive.
“The result is that the price of glass bottles exported into Kenya by Tanzania has become more expensive than locally manufactured glass in Kenya and therefore Kenyan companies have reduced their demands /imports from Tanzania.
In the current economic hardship caused by Covid-19, the Kenyan companies are likely to stop importing glass from Tanzania and any other glass bottle manufacturers within the EAC Partner states,” the lawyers say.
