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{
    "id": 199763,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/199763/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 290,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Kimunya",
    "speaker_title": "The Minister for Finance",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 174,
        "legal_name": "Amos Muhinga Kimunya",
        "slug": "amos-kimunya"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Chairman, Sir, for that. What we are trying to do is something that was started way back in 2004 where we said that cigarettes should be moved to a specific regime and they will be charged based on certain characteristics. However, to help migrate from the then regime to the current one, they were classified under four bands, that is, A, B, C, and D. The only thing that was reasonable to use at that point was the selling price. We have now moved to a point where we are saying that we need to be at par with the rest of the world. This is because we are opening our market to cigarettes coming from China and other countries. These cigarettes find their way in this country and yet we cannot assess what the Excise Duty on them should be because they are based on the selling price. However, internationally, the rates that are being used are based on the characteristics. For example, does the cigarette have a filter or not? How is the cigarette packed and so on? Basically, we then apply the same rates. Now, what we intend to do is to migrate all the cigarettes into their various bands. Looking at the tax rates, it should make it so easy for each one of them to move across. Because of the specific concerns that were raised by the local industries vis-a-vis the multinationals, we have actually gone one step back and I am proposing, in my amendment, to actually lower the rate from Kshs1,200 to Kshs1,000 in order to accommodate one specific brand that is currently in Category C and ensure that there is equity within the cigarette industry."
}