Cigarette manufacturing company Mastermind Tobacco says 80 percent of its flagship brand in Kenya is illicit. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Cigarette manufacturing company Mastermind Tobacco says 80 percent of its flagship brand in Kenya is illicit.
In a statement, Mastermind noted that the local market is flooded with up to 80 percent of products bearing the name of Supermatch, which it notes is smuggled into Kenya from neighbouring Uganda.
This follows an annual survey by its competitor BAT, which showed that the country is losing up to Sh6.5 billion every year in taxes as a result of the influx of illicit cigarettes being sold in the local market.
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“We are also asking the government to crack down on traders and dealers engaged in the import of illicit cigarettes into the country and take legal action on them,” said Audrey Murungi, executive director of Mastermind.
Ms Murungi said if not curtailed, the Tobacco industry here will be forced to shut down leading to a massive loss of jobs.
“We are concerned at the growing level of illicit cigarettes making their way into the country, especially from Uganda,” said Murungi.
BAT, which is listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), found in an annual survey that the illegal sale of cigarettes ate up about 25.5 percent of the market last year compared with 11.3 percent earlier, resulting in a loss of billions of shillings in revenue. It estimates the illegitimate market denied the Kenya Revenue Authority Sh6.5 billion in 2022.
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The Ruto administration spared cigarettes from tax increases in its first finance law, marking the first time in five years that the sale of the health-risk product was not included in the plan to raise extra revenue.
→ dakure@ke.nationmedia.com
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