Thursday, October 1, 2015 Uhuru rejects proposed law on excise duty

President Uhuru Kenyatta has declined to assent a law meant to manage collection of exercise duty until the National Treasury gives its input.

Sources in Parliament told the Nation that the President had asked for more time to have Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich to scrutinise the changes made to the Bill before the House passed it on August 27.

The Bill was among those presented to the President for assent on September 11, the day he signed six Bills, five of which were intended to make it easy to conduct business in Kenya.

The National Assembly resumed sittings on Tuesday but Speaker Justin Muturi is yet to communicate to the House regarding the President’s decision on the Excise Duty Bill.

He would be expected to state the President’s reservations and recommendations regarding the rejected Bill.

The provision in the Constitution that a Bill that is not assented to within 14 days is automatically assumed to have been enacted has never been used.

Among the changes introduced in the Bill at the last stage were the manner in which cigarettes and other tobacco products are taxed.

In changes initiated by the Finance, Trade and Planning Committee, excise duty on cigarettes would be charged based on the nature of the cigarettes as opposed to the types and per kilogramme.

This was contrary to the system proposed by the Treasury.