Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro proposes scrapping VAT on fuel, reducing margins and removing the Road Maintenance Levy to lower petrol and diesel prices below Sh190.

📻 Breaking It Down

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 15 — Former House Budget Committee Chair Ndindi Nyoro has proposed an urgent three-pronged intervention to bring fuel prices below Sh190 per litre after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced sharp increases in pump prices effective Friday.

Under the latest monthly review published on Thursday, super petrol prices rose by Sh16.65 per litre while diesel jumped by Sh46.29, pushing retail prices in Nairobi to Sh214.25 for petrol and Sh242.92 for diesel.

Speaking in Nairobi on Friday, the Kiharu MP warned that failure to contain the fuel price spike would trigger severe inflationary pressures and hurt the economy “to the tune of hundreds of billions.”

📌 What You Need to Know

“We spend a little more money in terms of waivers and subsidies, and then we protect the economy going forward in the medium and long term,” Nyoro told reporters.

“Or we become laissez-faire and have a price to pay daily economically speaking,” he warned.

Nyoro said the government should immediately reduce fuel distributors’, retailers’ and wholesalers’ margins by Sh4 per litre from the current average of about Sh22.

He also proposed scrapping the 8 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on fuel products that was reinstated under Legal Notice No. 70 of April 15, 2026.

“The second thing is that we must reduce our VAT further from the current 8 per cent to zero. In the short term, we must exempt fuel products from VAT,” he said.

EPRA had indicated that the latest prices factor in the VAT rate alongside inflation-adjusted excise duties and other fuel-related levies.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya