The government is losing billions of shillings in uncollected revenue as it continues to lose ground in the battle against illicit alcohol, a new report has revealed.
According to the findings, illegal alcohol now accounts for 60 per cent of all alcoholic beverages consumed in the country, a staggering increase of 27 percent since 2022.
The study was commissioned by the Alcoholic Beverages Association of Kenya (ABAK) in conjunction with Euromonitor International.
It paints a grim picture of a runaway underground economy powered by homemade brews, tax evasion, smuggling, and counterfeiting, resulting to an annual fiscal loss of Shs.120 billion. "The smuggling of ethanol increased, with the tax loss related to smuggling increasing by 144 per cent since 2022.
