The Kenya Revenue Authority seized and destroyed prohibited goods amounting to Sh500 million in the one year period to June 2023.
These comprised of alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, ethanol among others.
The goods with an estimated tax value of Sh150 million, were confiscated by the inter-agency team in a move to protect consumers against illicit products.
KRA deputy commissioner for Domestic Taxes Department, Enforcement Division Mutembei Nyagah said the operation further seeks to enhance a competitive business environment and promote legitimate trade among manufacturers.
“The goods had been condemned and declared counterfeit as they did not comply with various legal statutes including the Excise Duty Act 2015 and Excisable Goods Management System Act Regulations (EGMS),” Nyagah said.
He was speaking during an event at the destruction site at Athi River Export Processing Zone (EPZ).
Alcoholic Beverages Association of Kenya chairman Eric Githua commended the inter-agency team for the initiative, noting that illicit liqour has destroyed the lives of many young people.
The government has committed to fight counterfeits and illicit trade that costs the country about Sh150 billion annually, according to Industry PS Juma Mukhwana.
Speaking early this month in Nairobi during the launch of the inaugural international forum on intellectual property protection and enforcement, Mukhwana said a large chunk of the imports in the country have turned out to be counterfeits.
He said the government would strive to promote local manufacturing as a cure to the counterfeit menace.
Anti-Counterfeit Authority chairman, Josephat Kabeabea said the move to boost local manufacturing will play a key role in the fight against counterfeits amid the threat to global economies by the increased infringement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
“The latest intellectual property crime study undertaken by ACA, which is the National Baseline Survey in October 2019 and February 2020 on the extent of counterfeiting and other forms of illicit trade in Kenya, shows the value of counterfeit trade to be close to Sh100 billion in revenue in 2018, a figure economists say could be more and increasing each year,” Kabeabea said.
He further noted that the value extent of general illicit trade in the country stood at Sh726 billion in 2017 and increased to Sh826 billion in 2018.
