By Alex Muriithi.
Jameson whisky bottles will have diamond mark of quality in attempt to combat parallel imports.This decision comes as the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Anti-Counterfeit Agency have been conducting raids on counterfeit and illegal liquor in the country.
The distributors have also noticed that their revenue is lowered by alcohol brought in through back door channels, which has also been a major revenue leak for the taxman.
June 1st , the KRA seized excisable goods worth Sh1.2 million at Kasarani and Njiru. Another Sh15 million worth of illicit brew was impounded and destroyed in Kisumu.
Excise tax collections in eight months of the current financial year dropped by Sh4.67 billion compared to a year earlier, showing, the impact of the increased sale of illicit and counterfeit liquor.
“The objective of the ongoing countrywide crackdown on illicit trade and counterfeit products is not only to protect legitimate products from unfair competition posed by counterfeit products but also protect Kenyans from substandard and potentially harmful products,” said the KRA Intelligence and Strategic Operations Commissioner James Githii Mburu in a statement over the Madaraka Day weekend.
“Parallel trading has been a challenge for us and it has been costing the Kenyan government revenue,” said Pernod Ricard Kenya & East Africa managing director Predrag Amidzic.
The addition of the mark in the coming months will make it easier to curb alcohol imported through backdoor channels.