Whiskey and Wine consumers have been dealt a blow in the new Budget proposal which has been read in the National Assembly by CS Henry Rotich.
In the new directive announced by the CS Rotich, Whiskey and wine consumers will have to dig deep in the pocket in order to afford a bottle of the drinks.
Excise duty on a bottle of Whiskey will go up by 24 shillings and a bottle of 750ML wine will go up by 18 shillings.
Alcohol consumers have been exempted in the new directive. In recent past alcohol consumers were affected by punitive government measures which were aimed at taming the drinking culture in the country.
But on addressing issues of custom clearance CS Henry Rotich stated that Once goods have undergone clearance abroad, they will not be cleared here with KEBS unless under suspicious circumstances.
This is a relief to most business people who were really complaining about the delays in the clearance process.
CS Rotich has insisted on the government’s determination to promote small scale businesses in the country. He has since announced the lowering of the cost of power to promote manufacturing in the country.
“To accelerate growth and address challenges facing SMEs, we are making interest rates very stable and we will continue to lower the cost of power so that manufacturers can be competitive,” claimed CS Rotich.
Moreover he also expressed confidence in the state in its efforts to eliminate contrabands goods from the market;
“We have made a lot of progress in regard to implementing the big four agenda plans and this is attributed to policies put in place like fighting manufacture of contraband goods.”