This archive report was first published on 4 August 2019.
On August 4, 2019, a Senate committee in Kenya raised concerns over the anti-adulteration levy, which they claimed had increased the price of kerosene and made life difficult for ordinary Kenyans.
The committee, led by Nyeri Senator Ephraim Maina, expressed its misgivings as the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) blamed the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) for the recent jump in prices of petroleum products.
EPRA Director-General Pavel Oimeke told the Senate Committee on Energy that the gains the country had made on fuel prices were wiped out by a 5.15 per cent adjustment of excise duty for inflation that was gazetted by KRA through the July legal notice number 109.
“The adjustment increased the duty on super petrol by Sh1.02 per litre while diesel and kerosene went up by Sh0.53,” Mr Oimeke said.
He added that if taxes and levies had been maintained at a constant level between June and July, the pump price of super petrol would have dropped by Sh0.73 per litre, that of diesel by Sh1.41 and Sh2.83 for kerosene.
The adulteration levy was introduced in the 2018 Finance Act as a means of checking companies or individuals that mix either petrol and diesel with kerosene and sell it to unsuspecting motorists.
However, the lawmakers argue that it has done more harm than good, citing the example of kerosene, which is the main source of fuel in most poor homes. The pump price of kerosene jumped from Sh65 to Sh100 per litre as a result of the taxation.
On Thursday, the committee described the decision to introduce the levy as sadistic and cold, saying it has made life difficult for the ordinary mwananchi.
