The Ministry of Trade has moved quickly to address the recent tax concerns raised by traders in various parts of Nairobi announcing a raft of measures to unlock th stalemate.
In a meeting chaired by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua at his Karen residence Thursday, the ministry announced that going forward, no further tax increments will be made without consultations with the traders.
This comes as a huge reprieve for the traders who have in the past accused the government of imposing taxes without consulting them.
Representatives of traders from Gikomba, Kamukunji, Eastleigh, Nyamakima, Muthurwa, and Wakulima attended the meeting.
To give room for consultations, it was also agreed that monthly meetings would be held at the DP's office where key issues would be discussed.
At the same time, it was agreed that all containers at the port would be charged a Sh2.5 million benchmarking fee.
To deal with the issue of counterfeits, the meeting agreed to streamline pre-shipment inspection and how it will be done.
Anti-counterfeit Authority (ACA) was also directed to work closely with the Kenya Bureau of Standards to enrich the Certificate of Conformity.
In what is also a huge relief for the traders, ACA was directed to release all seized goods within 2 weeks upon verifications.
"ACA, KRA, and KEBS to convene sensitization seminars to highlight what's counterfeit and how to verify," a communique from the meeting partly reads.
The meeting also resolved that all police officers based at the port and other stations for more than three years be transferred.
All ACA officers accused of harassing traders are to be transferred from Nairobi.
Kenya Revenue Authority will also negotiate with Shipping Lines and KPA on demurrage costs.
