• The government is pocketing 48.9% of the cost of a litre of petrol in Nairobi, 43.9% of the diesel cost and 42.1% of what consumers are paying for a litre of kerosene.
• Out of the Sh115.18 a motorist spends on a litre of super petrol in Nairobi, Sh56.52 goes to government.
Image: FILE:
You would still pay Sh56.42 as taxes and levy per litre of petrol even if the commodity was availed at the Port of Mombasa for free.
According to the commodity's pricing, consumers are paying more than two and half times the landed cost of the products at Mombasa, as taxes continue to push up pump prices.
In the latest review for February-March, the government is pocketing 48.9 per cent of the amount spent on a litre of petrol in Nairobi, 43.9 per cent of the diesel cost and 42.1 per cent of what consumers are paying for a litre of kerosene.
Out of the Sh115.18 a motorist spends on a litre of Super Petrol in Nairobi, Sh56.52 goes to government, with consumers paying nine different taxes and levies on fuel products.
In Uganda, a litre of petrol is currently retailing at an average Ush3,960 (Sh118.81).
This is a Sh3.03 above the cost in Nairobi, despite Uganda depending on Kenya's Port of Mombasa as the main import route for its fuel products.
A litre of petrol in Rwanda is retailing at Sh109 while Tanzanians enjoy the lowest pump prices currently, with a litre of petrol going for Sh89.09.
In Kenya, a further Sh3.22 is charged per litre as storage and distribution, bringing the cost to more than double the Sh43.15 a litre that petrol landed at in Mombasa cost last month.
Sh44.78 in every litre of diesel, currently at Sh101.91 in Nairobi, goes to government as taxes while Sh38.90 in every litre of kerosene, currently at Sh92.44 (in Nairobi) is taxes and levies.
Oil marketing companies are currently taking Sh12.39 per litre of petrol, and Sh12.36 for each litre of diesel and kerosene, with Kenyans paying heavily for fuel products despite proximity to the port.
Excise duty takes the lion's share of Sh21.95 of every litre of petrol followed by the Road Maintenance Levy (Sh18), VAT (Sh8) and the Petroleum Development levy (Sh5.40).
Other levies included in the fuel pricing are Petroleum Regulatory Levy, Railway Development Levy, Anti-adulteration Levy, Merchant Shipping Levy and the Import Declaration Fee.
Pipeline transport costs, road transport, pipeline and depot losses are also factored in the pricing which has continued to deny Kenyans befits of the recent drop in global fuel prices.
The pump prices of Super Petrol, diesel and kerosene went up by Sh8.19, Sh5.51 and Sh5.32, respectively, on Sunday,
The increase has forced Kenyans to dig deeper into their pockets amid tough economic times caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Consumers Federation of Kenya on Tuesday said high taxation, the cost of fuel and electricity are killing the optimism about post-Covid-19 recovery.
The federation is in court opposing the Petroleum Development Levy (currently at Sh5.40, which was increased from a low of 40 cents last year.
So far, the ministry has collected over Sh20 billion from the levy.
“Even if someone gave us fuel for free, we will still pay Sh56 as taxes for a litre of petrol. It is sad. We are lucky that global fuel prices are still low,” Cofek secretary general Stephen Mutoro said.
He projects a litre of petrol will soon hit Sh150.
EPRA, which sets fuel prices, on Sunday pegged the price increase on the landed cost of imports.
“The changes in this month’s prices are a consequence of the average landed cost of imported Super Petrol increasing by 20.93 per cent from $323.52 per cubic metre in December to $391.24 per cubic metre in January 2021,” acting director general Daniel Kiptoo said in a statement.
That of diesel, widely used by the transport sector and large-scale farmers on generators and tractors, increased by 13.64 per cent from $332.22 per cubic metre to $377.55 per cubic metre, according to the regulator.
The landed cost of kerosene increased by 14.60 per cent from $302.97 per cubic metre to $347.19, EPRA added.
“The new prices are inclusive of the eight per cent VAT in line with the provisions of the Finance Act 2018, the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act 2020 and the revised rates for the excise duty adjusted for inflation as per Legal Notice number 194 of 2020,” Kiptoo said.
Gains made by the shilling, where the mean monthly US Dollar to Kenya Shilling exchange rate appreciated by 0.57 per cent from Sh110.52 per dollar in December to Sh109.89 in January, did not have much impact on the price of the product.