KRA intensifies war with manufacturers over excise tax

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has intensified its war with manufacturers over the payment of excise tax, putting at risk millions of jobs and billions of shillings in tax revenues.The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) – the industry lobby – on Wednesday said the taxman had denied more than 80 per cent of its members the excise tax licence, effectively prohibiting them from manufacturing and selling excisable goods…[...]

NSE investors told to pay capital tax

The taxman has ordered investors at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) to continue paying capital tax until the end of the year, ushering in more bad news for a bear market. The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) clarification means those who have traded shares since January are liable to pay the tax…[...]

Banks’ lending to the Treasury jumps above Sh800bn

Banks have raised their holdings of state domestic debt by 1.2 percentage points to 57.1 per cent since the beginning of the month, pushing their lending to the government past the Sh800 billion mark.The holdings have now risen by Sh16 billion to Sh805 billion since the beginning of the month, out of the total Sh1.41 trillion. Lenders are looking for higher yields on the low risk lending platform…[...]

CMC gets boost with order for 50 tractors by Butali Sugar

Auto dealer CMC Holdings has sold 50 New Holland tractors to Butali Sugar Mills for an estimated Sh215 million, making it one of the single-largest orders for a vehicles dealer this year.The tractors were delivered to Butali earlier this month, raising its tractor fleet to 250 units and making it the biggest owner of the New Holland TS6000 models in Sub-Saharan Africa…[...]

Coffee prices drop at NCE on high supply

The value of Kenyan coffee dropped eight per cent in this week’s auction, reversing a trend of good prices witnessed since the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) returned from recess mid this month.On average, a 50-kilogramme bag fetched Sh17,000 down from Sh18,600 it attracted in last week’s auction. The prices dropped as supply increased to 637,000kg from last week’s 580,000kg…[...]

NSE delays derivatives market launch to Q3

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) has delayed the roll out of a derivatives market to this quarter from the earlier target date of the second quarter to adequately prepare the market for the launch, it said on Wednesday.NSE plans to offer derivative instruments, becoming the second bourse in Sub Sahara Africa to do so after Johannesburg, in a bid to boost liquidity…[...]

KRA bans manual filing of corporate taxes

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has banned manual filing of value added tax, pay-as-you-earn and income tax returns.The services will now be only available on the iTax platform that KRA is implementing to improve efficiency and increase revenue collection…[...]

Airtel Kenya wins global best practice case study recognition

Airtel Kenya has been recognised as a global best practice case study by Socialbakers, a global social media analytics firm for outstanding performance in serving customers online. The award recognises the company's outstanding use of online social media platforms in engagement and resolution of customer issues…[...]

Mumias accuses G4S of inflating prices to claim Sh45 million

Mumias Sugar Company has accused an international security firm of increasing the cost of its services to the miller without prior agreement. Mumias’ finance officer Jonathan Koome told High Court Judge Francis Gikonyo that G4S — which is claiming Sh45 million from the miller — breached contract terms by increasing the cost of a guard to Sh23,461 from Sh17,896 without the sugar firm’s approval…[...]