Photo: scoopertino.com
The Kenya Revenue Authority has raised concern over the high number of counterfeit water and juices in the market.
The authority says that over 60 percent of the products are illicit, a move that is denying the country billions of shillings in revenue.
According to KRA Commissioner General John Njiraini, they were keen to tame the sector and make sure that tax was paid and consumers received quality goods.
“The water and juices sector is one of the fastest growing industries in the country but statistics indicate that over 60 percent of the water and juices are illicit,” he said.
Speaking in Naivasha over the weekend, Njiraini announced plans to introduce the excise stamps management program to the sector.
Njiraini was full of praise for the program which seeks to help consumers identify genuine products and those that have paid taxes.
He noted that previously, the program had targeted spirits and wines adding that they had introduced it to beer before moving to water, juices and sodas.
The senior officer noted that under the program, they had already met their excise tax collection with tax returns rising by 30 to 40 percent.
“Under this program which is meant to fight illicit products we have seen some companies tax returns rise by fivefold and this is the way to go,” he said.
He termed the program as very successful noting that it had helped address the issue of counterfeit products in the tobacco sector.
"We tried this system in the tobacco industry and it has worked with counterfeits going down from 25 to five percent," he said.
Earlier, Njiraini had toured Keroche Breweries with KRA senior officers to study how the new excise program was working.
He noted that previously, the program had targeted spirits and wines adding that they had introduced it to beer before moving to water, juices and sodas.
“Under this program which is meant to fight illicit products we have seen some companies tax returns rise by fivefold and this is the way to go,” he said.
Keroche CEO Tabitha Karanja welcomed the new program adding that the excise stamp program had seen their sales rise.
Karanja said that consumers were now enlightened and empowered noting that they could buy legitimate products under the program.
She however expressed her concern over the high number of counterfeit liquor in the market mainly imported noting that this was killing the industry.
"Though a lot has been done to deal with these counterfeit drinks, we urge KRA to do more as 50 percent of this imported drinks are fake," she said.