FINANCE EA DAILY BUSINESS NEW SUMMARY
CBK fails to effect Uhuru cash order eight months on
Lenders are still waiting for the Central Bank of Kenya’s nod to raise the threshold for reporting transactions beyond the Sh1 million set in law, eight months and 26 days after President Uhuru Kenyatta gave an order to expand limits for high-value transfers. Commercial banks say the regulator is yet to issue guidelines to implement the presidential directive allowing a higher limit for customer cash transaction disclosures.
President Kenyatta last October issued a directive to raise the threshold of suspicious cash transactions commercial banks are required to report under anti-money laundering laws to facilitate cash deals among small businesses.
Mr Kenyatta ordered the immediate raise of the reporting threshold for both deposits and withdrawals above the current Sh1 million, without saying what the new figure will be…BusinessDaily
New 10pc phone tax takes effect Friday
Buyers of mobile phones face increased prices in a new duty slapped on the gadgets through changes to the laws taking effect Friday. The Finance Act 2022 has imposed a 10 percent excise duty on the importation of cellular phones in addition to Sh50 excise duty on every imported ready-to-use SIM card.
The two new duties on the purchase and use of mobile phones were not part of the original Finance Bill 2022 submitted by Treasury Secretary Ukur Yatani but were introduced during the debate by the House last month.
The duty on SIM cards was, for example, proposed by Kikuyu legislator Kimani Ichung’wah in last-minute amendments to the Bill which were adopted by the House…BusinessDaily
Treasury shuns law set to control goods prices
The Treasury will not invoke the law that allows the government to control the prices of essential goods in reaction to the surge in inflation. Treasury Principal Secretary Julius Muia on Wednesday said the State will not cap the price of basic items in line with the Price Control (Essential Goods) Act, 2011 as a weapon to control the cost of living measure.
The Act, which was enacted during the tenure of the late President Mwai Kibaki, allows the Finance minister to set maximum prices of gazetted essential commodities upon consultation with the relevant industry…BusinessDaily
Maize flour price to reduce by Sh2 after CS Munya levies relief
Millers have said plans by Agriculture Cabinet secretary Peter Munya to suspend all levies imposed on imported maize in pursuit of lower cost of the staple will only cut the price of flour by Sh2 for a two-kilo packet.
United Grain Millers Association (UGMA), an umbrella body of small and medium-scale millers, says the move is so insignificant that it will not have any impact on consumers…Daily Nation
Relief to consumers as Treasury halves tax on cooking gas
The Treasury has cut value-added tax (VAT) charged on cooking gas by half, handing consumers a major relief amid rising global prices of the commodity and other petroleum products.
The Finance Act 2022 cut the tax on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplies from the current 16 per cent to eight per cent.
“Section 5 of the Value Added Tax Act, 2013 is amended in sub-section 2 by adding the following new paragraph immediately after paragraph(aa)-(ab) in the case of the supply of liquefied petroleum gas including propane; eight per cent,” the new law signed by President Uhuru Kenyatta last week said in part…Daily Nation
Local car assemblers get major tax exemptions
Local motor vehicle assemblers have won deep concessions after President Uhuru Kenyatta accepted and signed into law proposals targeted at improving sales of the units they produced.
The Head of State fully adopted proposals by the Finance and Planning Committee of the National Assembly to deepen concessions for assemblers who qualify for the tax incentives by freeing them from a requirement compelling them to source at least 30 percent of spare parts locally.
“That, clause 35 of the Bill be amended …and substitute therefor the words “and whose ex-factory value comprises at least thirty percent of local content” and inserting the words “Where local content means “parts designed and manufactured in Kenya by an original equipment manufacturer operating in Kenya,” the committee, had said in a recommendation of the Finance Bill 2022 which has since become law….Daily Nation