EAC extends duty waiver on Kenya’s malt, barley imports
Posted by africanpress on November 8, 2009
By James Anyanzwa
The East African Community (EAC) Council of Finance Ministers has extended Kenya’s right to waive duty on barley and malt imports by one more year.
The ministers granted Kenya’s request for extension of remission of duty, to apply an import duty rate of zero per cent instead of 10 per cent on malt, and 10 per cent instead of 25 per cent on barley, until June 30, 2010.
Last year, Kenya made a request for reduction of duty on barley and malt imports for East African Breweries Limited (EABL) for a period of one year, because of shortages of the two commodities after crop failure.
A similar request by Tanzania was granted during the Pre-Budget consultations of Ministers of Finance of June last year.
As the EAC’s policy-making organ, the Council of Ministers is charged with, among other responsibilities, keeping under constant review the implementation of the programmes of the Community.
The EAC Post-Budget consultations meeting of the Ministers of Finance, which ended in Arusha on November 5, also emphasized the need for a social protection regime, to support the movement of labour across the region, ahead of the free movement of labour as envisaged in the Common Market Protocol.
Lower rates
In a statement from the EAC secretariat in Arusha, Tanzania on Saturday, the Ministers approved the remission of duty on goods used in the manufacture of products for export, subject to conditions specified in Articles 25 and 27 of the Protocol Establishing the EAC Customs Union.
Under the Draft Agreement on Avoidance of Double Taxation (DTA), the Ministers adopted fixed rates for withholding tax at 5 per cent on dividends, and 10 per cent on interest, royalties, management and professional fees under the DTA.
They also agreed that Partner States should not negotiate with third parties for rates lower than those in the EAC DTA.
The meeting, chaired by Mr James Musoni, Minister of Finance and Economic Planning of the Republic of Rwanda, was attended by finance ministers and respective Permanent Secretaries, Central Bank Governors and senior officials from all the partner states.
The Republic of Burundi was, however, not represented at the post-budget consultative meeting.
source.standard.ke
