Ruto standards levy Kenyan businesses face fresh turmoil as the latest tax measure piles on an already crushing load of over five mandatory charges, threatening to squeeze manufacturers dry and jack up everyday prices for households nationwide.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) rolled out the Standards (Standards Levy) Order 2025 on November 4, mandating that all producers fork over 0.2 per cent of their monthly turnover, minus VAT and discounts, straight to the agency’s coffers.
Gazetted back in August under President William Ruto’s fiscal push, this new hit comes hot on the heels of housing levies, SHIF deductions, and betting withholdings, leaving industry leaders howling about a “death by a thousand cuts” in an economy still smarting from 6.8 per cent inflation.
KEBS Director-General Esther Ngari laid it out plain in a Nairobi briefing, flanked by Treasury reps: “This levy funds our core work, from quality checks to consumer safeguards. It’s not optional; remittances start this month, capped at KSh 4 million annually to shield smaller outfits.”
For a mid-sized factory churning out Sh50 million in sales, that spells a cool Sh100,000 monthly bleed, per quick math from the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM).
Big guns like Unilever and East African Breweries could swallow Sh10 million yearly without flinching, but the ripple? Analysts at Stanbic Bank forecast a 2 to 3 per cent hike in consumer goods by Q1 2026, from maize flour to bottled water.
“We’re passing costs down the line because margins are razor-thin already,” griped KAM CEO Tobias Alando in a fiery statement, tallying the levy as the sixth such burden since Ruto’s 2022 takeover, alongside corporate taxes, VAT, and the eco levy on plastics.
The outcry echoes louder in industrial hubs like Thika and Athi River, where factory floors buzz with whispers of shutdowns. Small-scale operators, who make up 70 per cent of KEBS-registered firms, fear the knockout punch.
“We’ve dodged floods and fuel spikes; now this? It’s like the government forgot we’re the engine, not the piggy bank,” vented Jane Wanjiku, owner of a Kisumu soap plant, during a virtual town hall that drew 2,000 logins.
A KIPPRA survey leaked hours after the notice pegged 65 per cent of manufacturers eyeing price bumps or staff cuts, with exporters fretting over competitiveness against cheaper Ethiopian imports.
Ruto’s camp pushes back with a narrative of necessity. Finance CS John Mbadi, in a KBC interview, tied the levy to Vision 2030 goals: “Quality standards protect jobs and health. This modest charge ensures KEBS evolves beyond donor whims.”
The timing stings amid Gen Z tax revolts that shaved 5 per cent off GDP growth forecasts last quarter. The levy joins a rogues’ gallery: 1.5 per cent housing (court-reinstated March), 2.75 per cent SHIF (October launch), 5 per cent betting excise (July), plus the perennial NSSF and eco levies.
“Over five and counting; it’s a levy lottery no one wins,” quipped opposition MP Opiyo Wandayi on the floor, vowing a private member’s bill to cap cumulative hits at 10 percent of turnover.
Consumers, the silent casualties, brace for the squeeze. A Nairobi supermarket executive confided off-record: “Bread is up 10 bob, milk another 5.
Folks on Sh20,000 salaries can’t absorb it.” Rural markets feel it too, with KEBS targeting agro-processors like tea blenders, potentially inflating export costs and denting the Sh1.2 trillion manufacturing sector’s 8 per cent share of GDP.
International watchdogs chime in: The World Bank’s latest Kenya snapshot warns of “fiscal overreach eroding investor confidence”, while Uganda’s trade ministry eyes poaching border factories with lighter regimes.
As dusk settled over State House on November 5, whispers of legal pushback swirled. The Chamber of Commerce filed for an injunction in the High Court, arguing procedural lapses in the gazette process. Will Ruto’s standards levy Kenya’s saga into compliance or flare into full revolt?
