Friday, October 25, 2024 – Kenyans buying new mobile phones that will not
comply with new tax requirements will have their phones switched off.
This is according to the latest
directive from the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA).
CA directed all phone
business stakeholders to ensure that they comply with new taxation
requirements that would be applied from next week on November 1.
”Operators will also be
required to provide for the gray-listing of non-compliant devices to facilitate
regularization within a prescribed period, failure to which the devices will
thereafter be blacklisted,’’ CA stated.
The latest directive will only
apply to all devices imported or assembled in the country beginning November
1, this year.
Devices that will already be on the mobile networks by October 31
will not be affected.
The authority announced that all
local phone assemblers had to upload the International Mobile Equipment
Identity (IMEI) Number of each assembled device to the taxation database, to
enable the government to track sales.
The regulator further directed
all mobile phone importers to ensure that they disclose IMEI numbers
of all devices that they plan to import.
Further, CA reminded importers
that the directive was a mandatory practice in the exercise of government policies.
The CA’s directive to importers
of mobile devices will also target agencies that import phones for the purposes
of research, testing, and any other purposes.
The Authority further directed
mobile phone retailers and wholesalers to ensure that they only engage in the trade
of tax-compliant devices.
Local telcos engaging in
network provision were also ordered to ensure that they only allow
tax-compliant devices to be connected to their networks. CA added it would
provide them with a whitelist database of compliant devices.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
