The Government, through the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), recently gazetted the Standards (Standards Levy) Order, 2025, introducing a seismic shift in the financial obligations of Kenyan manufacturers. While the levy rate remains at 0.2% of monthly turnover, the new Order replaces the previous KES 400,000 annual cap with a staggering KES 4 million limit for the first five years, rising to KES 6 million thereafter.
This tenfold increase places an unprecedented burden on our productive sector, threatening business continuity and job security. Because these costs will likely be passed on to the public, the Order risks driving up the cost of living for all Kenyans while making our local products less competitive compared to imports which remain exempt from the levy.
Alongside our fellow Business Membership Organizations (BMOs), the Eastern Africa Grain Council (EAGC) is calling for the immediate suspension of this Order. We urge the Government to return to the table for meaningful stakeholder engagement and to establish a financing framework that supports, rather than stifles, the growth of Kenyan industry.
