Bottled water consumers will have to pay more for the product starting February 1 as bottlers begin to pass down additional costs emanating from excise tax on non-alcoholic drinks.
According to Water Bottlers Association of Kenya (WBAK), the price of a litre of bottled water will rise by about Sh10. Wholesalers buying from bottlers for resale will now purchase a case of 24 bottles, 500ml each, at between Sh480 and Sh500 up from Sh300 previously.
The additional costs will factor in the excise tax, value added tax, cost of the excise duty stamps and the labor costs associated with affixing the stamps on bottles. In October last year, Kenya Revenue Authority directed that all manufacturers of Bottled water, juice and other nonalcoholic beverages pay an excise tax of Sh5.47 per litre and affix new generation excise duty stamps on bottles in a move aimed at raising an additional Sh3.6 billion for the taxman.
Failure to adhere will attract a fine of Sh5 million for both the bottler and the retailer with the deadline for affixing the stamps set for January 31 this year.
Bottlers urged the government to rethink the introduction of the sin tax on water saying they sympathized with consumers who would ultimately bear the extra tax burden.
