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Petrol price to hit Sh130 as Treasury seeks to keep IMF happy

By BRIAN NGUGI August 10th, 2018 1 min read

Nairobi motorists will pay a record Sh130.15 per litre of petrol or about Sh17.9 more beginning next month when petroleum products start attracting 16 per cent value added tax (VAT).

Treasury principal secretary Kamau Thugge on Thursday confirmed that petroleum products will start attracting the tax on September 1 in line with Kenya’s promise to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) two years ago.

At prevailing prices diesel, used to power commercial vehicles such as buses and tractors, will cost Sh16.5 more to stand at Sh119.77 a litre after adding the tax.

The new tax burden will also be felt among consumers of Kerosene, who are mostly low-income households that use it for lighting and powering cooking stoves. A litre of kerosene will cost Sh99.44, a Sh13.7 increase from current price of Sh85 per litre.

PUMP PRICES

The increase in prices at the pump will not be limited to Nairobi but will be felt countrywide beginning September 1.

Earlier estimates showed that the 16 per cent tax charge on petroleum products could earn the Treasury – which has continued to suffer perennial budget holes – additional Sh71 billion a year.

VAT was first introduced on petrol, diesel, kerosene and jet fuel in the VAT Act of 2013, with a three-year grace period that would have seen it come into force in 2016 when it was once again deferred to September 2018.

The IMF has been pressing Kenya to do away with tax exemptions as part of a wider plan to grow revenues, reduce budget deficits and ultimately slow down the debt pile-up that has in recent months become a source of national concern.

On Thursday, Dr Thugge said “the grace period has expired”, meaning there will be no going back on the policy.

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