The Ministry of Finance has changed its position on removing the 25 percent customs duty on imported mobile phones.
Finance Minister John Mbadi confirmed only the removal of some other duties when he presented the budget in Parliament on Thursday but did not mention plans to scrap the 25 percent customs duty.
Instead Mbadi said Kenya has submitted a request to the East African Community to be allowed to remove customs duty on raw materials and parts used to assemble modern phones locally.
The government had earlier planned to scrap that duty along with 16 percent VAT, 2.5 percent import fees and a 2 percent railway development levy. The proposals were submitted to Parliament on May 8 and later sent to the EAC on May 15.
