Petrol price increases marginally in latest review

Motorists will have to pay slightly more for petrol after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) increased the cost of the critical commodity by Sh0.77 per litre in price changes that will take effect from midnight. 

This means that petrol will now cost Sh127.14 per litre, a slight increase from the Sh126.37 that consumers have been paying over the past month. 

But the regulator has kept the cost of diesel and kerosene unchanged for the fourth month running, which is a reprieve for motorists and industries that heavily use diesel and low-income households that rely on kerosene for cooking. 

This means that consumers in Nairobi will continue to buy a litre of diesel and kerosene at Sh107.66 and Sh97.85 respectively for the next one month.  

“The prices are inclusive of the 8 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) in line with the provisions of the Finance Act, 2018 the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 2020 and the revised rates for excise duty adjusted for inflation as per Legal Notice No.194 of 2020,” Epra said. 

Meanwhile, motorists in Nakuru will pay Sh126.75 for a litre of petrol, Sh107.55 for diesel and Sh97.76 for kerosene. At the same time, those in Eldoret will pay Sh127.67 for a litre of petrol, Sh108.46 and Sh98.68 for diesel and kerosene respectively. 

A recent spate of new taxes and tax hikes by the National Treasury to widen the revenue basket has raised concerns over ballooning cost of living even as the economy struggles to shake off effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

For instance, for a litre of petrol, consumers will pay Sh57.87 in taxes and levies alone, which is more than the actual cost of importing fuel, and among these taxes is Excise Duty, Road Maintenance Levy, Petroleum Development Levy, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Anti-adulteration Levy. 

Meanwhile, fuel suppliers will get a cut of Sh12.39 for each litre, Sh3.29 will cater for storage and distribution costs, while Sh53.59 is the landed cost of petrol. 

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