Cooking gas could soon be affordable. This will be possible if Parliament adopts proposed amendments to the VAT Act by the Treasury. This would effectively see Value Added Tax (VAT) on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) could be waived.
Finance Minister Njeru Githae said the government’s policies have promoted the consumption of LPG in an effort to conserve the environment.
“LPG will soon become affordable to Kenyans with the commissioning of the LPG import and storage facility in Mombasa due in September. This will further compliment the quick realisation of similar facilities in Nairobi and major towns thereby increasing LPG consumption which is a modern and efficient energy source,” he said. (Capital Business).
It is estimated that over 97 % of Kenya’s nine million households rely on traditional sources of cooking energy. An estimated 68% percent of them use kerosene, 17% using charcoal, 11% depending on LPG. Only about 4% of Kenyan households use electricity for cooking.
The current consumption of LPG in the country is estimated at 90,000 Metric Tonnes (MT) per year and is expected to reach 200,000 MT once the current supply constraints are addressed. Githae also called upon the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to refund the Petroleum industry’s taxes due to the reduction on certain fuels last year.
In Nairobi ,A 6kg gas cylinder is currently retailing between Sh1,300 – Sh1 500 in different outlets up from Sh1 000 it cost around August last year to re-fill. The 13kg cylinder is going between Sh2900 up to Sh3500 up from Sh2500 in August last year.
The troubled Finance Bill 2011 is expected to be debated on Tuesday 17th when parliament resumes.
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