Kenya Loses KSh47 Billion to Illicit Cigarette Trade in Five Years
Originally published by Kahawatungu — Read the original article →
Kenya lost an estimated Sh47 billion in excise duty and VAT revenue between 2021 and 2025 due to the illicit cigarette trade, according to a new study by global market research firm Kantar commissioned by BAT Kenya.
The study estimates that illicit cigarettes accounted for 45.1% of total cigarette consumption in Kenya in 2025, meaning nearly one in every two cigarettes consumed was illicit. The study defines illicit cigarettes as products on which applicable taxes have not been paid and which do not comply with other regulatory requirements.
According to the findings, the lost tax revenue could have financed significant investments under the Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA). These include approximately 48,000 affordable houses, 19 million bags of subsidised fertiliser, or 12 million bags of maize.
