Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has embarked on a countrywide Public Participation exercise targeting Manufacturers of Non-Alcoholic drinks and the Public on the implementation of the second Phase of Excisable Goods Management System (EGMS).
The purpose of this exercise is to gather views and receive feedback from key stakeholders on various issues regarding implementation of EGMS (Phase Two) prior to its roll out on 1st September, 2019.
Consultation with stakeholders
As a matter of principle and in compliance with constitutional requirements, KRA engages the taxpayers and members of the public before implementation of Policies, Laws and Systems. To this end, the Authority has carried out various consultative forums with the registered taxpayers and general public in relation to implementation of the EGMS; the latest such national campaign being carried out between the 15th July -1st August, 2019.
The feedback from such forums are extensively evaluated and may be considered into the implementation of the programme. KRA has had special engagements with Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Water Bottlers Association of Kenya (WBAK) and other key representative organizations.
Consultations with Parliament
KRA has also been engaged by Parliament through the Public Investments Committee (PIC), which has reviewed the programme and made recommendations for further policy enhancements.
Procurement of the EGMS
This was the subject of review by the Parliament which rendered its report in April, 2019, clearing the system for implementation. Parliament observed that the procurement process complied with the requirements of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, as read together with the regulations.
Cost of implementation of the EGMS
In line with consultation with key stakeholders in the Industry, the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury & Planning reviewed the cost of excise stamps to the Industry downwards from Kshs. 1.50 per stamp to Kshs. 0.5 per stamp for water and Kshs. 0.6 for other non-alcoholic beverages and cosmetics.
The installation of the KRA EGMS equipment on the manufacturers’ production lines is done at no cost to the Industry. Any incidental costs may occur depending on the contractual and warranty requirements between manufacturers and their equipment suppliers.
KRA has concluded installation of the EGMS in 42 out of 46 automated water and juice production lines. Alternative arrangements have been provided for manufacturers with manual production lines.
Compatibility of the EGMS to manufacturers’ production lines
EGMS is designed to have minimum impact to the efficiency of manufacturers’ production lines. To this end, EGMS operates at speeds that are at least 2.5 times faster than the highest installed production speed in the country.
EGMS has redundancies that allow production to continue in the case of lack of connectivity to KRA. The Authority provides round the clock technical support service framework to ensure limited interruptions.
Roll out of phase two of EGMS
KRA will continue to engage key stakeholders and individual taxpayers on the implementation of the system before the roll out. Training on the system is ongoing and any feedback obtained may be considered to enhance the system and implementation arrangements.
In addition to the feedback collected during the consultation, KRA encourages any persons who may need to provide comments to contact us on Email: egmshelp@kra.go.ke.
Commissioner for Domestic Taxes
PUBLIC NOTICES 30/07/2019
