The High Court Friday suspended temporarily the implementation of the Finance Act, 2023 from taking effect for a week.
This follows a petition filed by Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah challenging the Finance Act, 2023.
The senator is seeking to have some sections of the law purged.
Lady Justice Mugure Thande ruled in Omtatah’s favour suspending the law from taking effect from July 1, 2023, pending the hearing and determination of the case.
“That I am satisfied that the Application meets the test for conservatory orders and I do grant prayers 2 and 3 of the Application until 5.7.23 when the matter is scheduled for mention for directions,” ruled Justice Thande.
In his amended petition, Omtatah said that the Finance Act contains amendments to several laws that have nothing to do with raising revenue and laws that affect the work of the Senate to protect the interests of counties and their governments.
“Forcing employees to contribute an amount of money based on the applicable blanket deductible percentage without consideration of their existing contractual obligations on their salaries is not reasonable,” says Omtatah.
He further argues it is a mandatory condition precedent that, before the Bill can be introduced for consideration in the originating House, a Speaker of one House of Parliament must first seek the concurrence of the Speaker of the other House of Parliament.
“In direct contravention of the mandatory requirement that any Bill introduced in the National Assembly, which includes provisions pertaining to county governments, must also be introduced to the Senate for concurrence, the Finance Bill 2023 was not submitted to the Senate,” he states.
He now wants the court to quash some Sections of the Original Finance Act 2023 which did not get input from the Senate adding that the Speaker of the National Assembly violated Article 110(3) of the Constitution by introducing the Finance Bill 2023 in the National Assembly without first determining, jointly with the Speaker of the Senate, whether the Act concerned county government.
Some of the sections of the Act were to be rolled out on July 1.
They included the one touching on the increasing of the cost of fuel after the law increased the taxes by eight per cent.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) said Friday the law will be implemented.
“Pursuant to the Finance Act, 2023, VAT on Super Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene has been revised from 8% to 16% effective 1st July 2023.
Accordingly, EPRA has recalculated the maximum pump prices that will be in force from 1st to 14th July 2023 taking into account VAT at 16%.”
“As a result, the changes in the maximum allowed petroleum pump prices in Nairobi are as follows: Super Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene increase by Sh13.49, Sh12.39 and Sh11.96 per litre respectively,” EPRA said in a statement.
