Kenya’s Finance Bill 2026 proposes a VAT exemption for certain mobile phones, cutting the effective tax burden on imported devices from about 55% to 50%. The exemption would give imported phones a price advantage while local assemblers would lose the ability to recover VAT on inputs, raising their production costs and potentially making Kenyan‑assembled phones more expensive.
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Eastleigh Voice · 5 days ago
Kenya's Revenue Authority reported a loss of Sh9.1 billion in fuel VAT revenue between April and May 2026 after the government cut the fuel VAT rate from 16 % to 8 %. The reduction was aimed at easing consumer pressure from rising fuel prices, significantly reducing KRA's revenue from a key tax stream.
VatCalc · 26 days ago
Kenya's Finance Bill 2026 expands VAT coverage to include a wide range of digital financial and payment processing services, effective 1 July 2026. Commissions earned by payment service providers on these services will be standard-rated for VAT, replacing previous exemptions. The change requires PSPs to reassess VAT treatment, update invoicing systems, and review contracts and pricing structures.
Kenyan Wallstreet · about 1 month ago
Kenya Revenue Authority will automatically link export records from the customs platform iCMS to VAT returns in iTax starting May 2026, requiring exporters to have verified export values linked to their PIN and valid electronic tax invoices. This eliminates manual zero‑rated sales declaration, blocks unsupported refund claims at source, and extends oversight to services exports prefilled via electronic invoices.
Kenyans · about 1 month ago
The Kenya Revenue Authority will integrate export VAT return data from its integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) with the iTax filing platform effective May 2026. Exporters will see validated export values automatically prefilled in their VAT returns, but must capture their PIN and a valid TIMS/eTIMS zero‑rated invoice number when lodging export documents in iCMS. Only transactions validated and linked to the taxpayer’s PIN and invoice will be accepted in VAT returns.
VatCalc · about 2 months ago
Kenya has temporarily reduced VAT on petrol and diesel from 16% to 13% for a three‑month period, effective 15 April to 14 July 2026. The measure, announced under Legal Notice No. 69, aims to ease inflationary pressure from rising global energy prices.
KPMG · 2 months ago
Kenyan KPMG commentary analyzes the Tax Appeals Tribunal decision that clarified the VAT treatment of insurance intermediaries. The Tribunal ruled that while insurance brokerage services remain exempt, asset management services are taxable at the standard 16% rate. The decision also highlights the High Court's 2021 ruling restoring the exemption and the appellant's unsuccessful deregistration attempt.
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Key Takeaways
The Bill proposes to exempt certain mobile phones from VAT, reducing the effective tax burden on imported devices from about 55% to about 50%.
Assemblers will no longer be able to recover VAT on inputs such as components, packaging, electricity, and transport, turning those VAT costs into additional expenses that may be passed on to consumers.
Imported phones could become cheaper due to the lower effective tax burden, while Kenyan‑assembled phones may become more expensive because of higher input VAT costs.
Primary source
Read the full article at Kenyan WallstreetThis summary was published on VATfaqs.com on 11 June 2026. It relates to VAT developments in Kenya. The original source is Kenyan Wallstreet.
