The High Court has declined to lift an order that froze the standards levy on manufacturers, which came into effect in August last year.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) argued that the suspension of the levy left a vacuum since the contested gazette notice, which introduced the payments, revoked the earlier one.
The standards agency told the court that without the levy, its operations would be hampered.
‘By denying the first respondent financial resources to execute its mandate, the conservatory orders sought violate the right of consumers to access quality goods and protection of their health and safety as guaranteed by the Constitution,’ Kebs said in the court papers.
The court, however, directed that the status quo – the suspension of the levy- be maintained, pending the hearing on January 27.
Kebs gazetted the Standards (Standards Levy) Order, 2025 and informed manufacturers that they would be required to remit the amount to it. Under the new rules, manufacturers must surrender 0.2 percent of their monthly turnover.
The amount is recoverable at source, with payments to be made through the Kenya Revenue Authority iTax system on or before the 20th day of the following month.
While the levy is still calculated at 0.2 percent of the monthly turnover – excluding VAT, excise duty and discounts – the revised order adjusts the annual levy cap from Sh400,000 to Sh4 million for the first five years.
Green Thinking Action Party (GTAP) went to court, arguing that the payments would cripple the operations of manufacturers.
The party added that the increase in the levy was implemented in violation of the Constitution and in a discriminatory, unreasonable and unfair manner.
In response, Kebs said failure to receive standards levy payments would destroy the quality infrastructure of the country and expose consumers to catastrophic effects of substandard products.
The agency said the court must desist from any action that impedes the smooth running of its operations, as it is in the public interest that Kebs executes its mandate effectively to guarantee consumers’ right to quality and safe goods.
The political party said that, unlike previous legal notices, the Ministry of Investments, Trade, and Industry focused solely on revenue generation, at the expense of manufacturers and Kenyans at large, with no clear benefit to the industries paying the levy.
GTAP further stated that the new levy is expected to double Kebs’ annual revenue from Sh700 million to about Sh1.4 billion.
The party’s deputy secretary-general, Mr Harrison Ochieng, said manufacturers would not benefit in any way from what he described as a punitive and illegal levy.
‘This is unprecedented, illegal, unreasonable, and irrational, and goes against the legitimate expectation that adjustments of such rates would be progressive rather than drastic,’ he said.
GTAP also accused the ministry of unlawfully expanding the definition of ‘manufacturers’ to include sectors such as energy generation, software development, computer engineering installation, repair and maintenance, and dry cleaning. The party said this was a deliberate attempt to ‘net as many industries as possible’ under the levy.