Safaricom raises prices of SIM cards, new phones
Members of the public queue outside a Safaricom shop along Kimathi Street in Nairobi on April 7, 2022 to register their mobile phone SIM cards.
Safaricom customers will from Friday, July 15, 2022, spend Sh50 more to buy SIM cards, after the telecommunications firm increased prices following the implementation of the Finance Act, 2022.
The company now says the SIM cards will cost Sh100 which includes the Sh50 new purchase price and an additional Sh50 mandatory airtime top-up to activate a new SIM.
Customers have been getting the products free of charge and were only required to pay the Sh50 airtime top-up to activate.
“Customers will purchase the SIM cards at Sh50 with an additional purchase of Sh50 airtime required to top up and activate the line for the first time, for a total of Sh100. Currently, SIM cards are issued for free with a first-time top-up of Sh50 airtime to activate the line,” the company stated.
In a statement on Thursday, Safaricom also announced that prices for the imported phones it deals in would gradually go up as it clears stock, to reflect a 10 percent excise tax introduced in the Finance Act, and a 25 per cent import duty introduced by the East African Community (EAC) under Common External Tariff.
Common External Tariff
“The Government of Kenya has implemented a Sh50 excise tax on SIM cards and a 10 per cent excise tax on imported phones as part of the Finance Act 2022. In addition, the East African Community has applied a 25 per cent import duty on phones as part of the Common External Tariff.
“Accordingly, effective July 15, 2022, we will be reviewing our SIM Card pricing to Sh50 + Sh50 airtime first top up to include the excise tax,” Safaricom said in a statement.
The company added, “Phone prices will be adjusted to include the 10 per cent excise tax and 25 per cent import duty as existing stock levels are replaced with new stock on which the new taxes apply.”
This will leave different brands of the phones the company deals in increasing by different levels, to reflect the two new taxes.
