The government has proposed to slap a 10 per cent Excise Duty on fish imports which could hike prices due to scarcity.
President William Ruto's administration has proposed to impose the tax through the Finance Bill 2023.
The Bill which has been tabled in Parliament outlines the various revenue-raising measures by the government to finance the 2023/24 budget.
However, the government ignored calls by MPs who have wanted the tax on imports put at 20 per cent.
Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi wanted the First Schedule of the Excise Duty Act, 2015 amended to introduce excise duty on imported fish at 20 per cent.
Atandi had written to National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula seeking clearance to introduce an amendment to the Excise Duty Act to include imported fish as excisable goods.
“Pursuant to Standing Order 114 (1), I would like to introduce a Bill to amend the First Schedule of the Excise Duty Act, 2015 to introduce excise duty on imported fish at the rate of 20 per cent of the customs value,” Atandi wrote in a letter dated March 31, 2023.
Under the current law, excise duty is charged on excisable goods manufactured in Kenya by licensed manufacturers, excisable services supplied by a licensed person and excisable goods imported into Kenya.
“Fish imports from China and other European countries are estimated to be Sh5 billion annually. Yet Kenya is not getting any revenue from the transactions,” Atandi had said.
Statistics from the fisheries department show that the value of fish imported from China grew by 25 per cent in 2021 to hit a historic high of Sh2 billion last year.
Data shows that Kenya shipped 14.8 million kilos of the delicacy from China in 2021, valued at Sh2 billion, up from Sh1.5 billion in the previous period.
Kenya is a fish-deficit country and relies on China to bridge the gap that stands at 365,000 tonnes annually against a demand of 500,000 tonnes.
