Excise duty key to bridging taxman’s funding shortfalls

The most significant news coming out of the latest review of the performance of the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is a shortfall in the collection of excise duties during the first six months of the current fiscal year.

Coming against the backdrop of excessive debt and huge revenue deficit, all indications are that this funding gap will now force the taxman to confront reports of an upsurge in fake excise stamps and also the urgent necessity to expand the rollout and enforce the use of the Excisable Goods Management System (EGMS), which has been in operation since 2013.