Kenya’s lax laws on counterfeit driving investors away

By Luke Anami

Lack of a level playing field is driving potential investors away.

Further, the inability for the Kenya Revenue Authority to police the entry points such as ports has led to an influx of products into the country.

Speaking during the launch of the Secret Stylist Africa, a new investor into the Kenyan Hair and beauty industry, Mr Bhatt decried the existence of counterfeits in the market calling for stiffer penalties against those found.

"Many products are evading paying duty and taxes on their goods due to an increase in the number of ‘panya’ routes," Mr Bharat Doshi, the Director of AshB Group of Companies and a partner of Secret Stylist Africa said.

He said the new products, especially in the hair and beauty industry, which evade duty and VAT creates an uneven playing field, driving away potential investors in the process. It makes most of the new investors who come in the country through the rightful processes of paying duty disadvantaged.

Reduce duty

Mr Bharat, a director of the ASH B group of companies, has invested heavily in tyre and imaging business. He is now investing in hair business through a partnership with Secret Stylist Africa Ltd (SSAL), from Australia.

He said the Government should further reduce the 25 per cent duty in order to attract more investors in Kenya.

"The Secret Stylist Africa Limited (SSAL) intends to bring the technology to manufacture products locally but wish to call upon the authorities to ensure duty paid for products in Kenya is similar in the East African region," Mr Bharat said.