BAT pays govt Shs90.5b worth of taxes

Kampala. British American Tobacco (BAT) has paid Shs90.5b to government in tax accumulations for the 2018 financial year.
In its audited results, BAT said it had paid Shs90.5b to government in Excise Duty and Value Added Tax.
“Taxes ... increased by Shs4b to Shs90.5b in 2018, driven by the full year impact of the Excise Duty increment effected in 2017,” statement published along the results, said.
In 2017, Parliament revised Excise Duty on cigarettes northwards. Duty on 1,000 sticks of locally manufactured soft cup cigarettes rose to Shs55,000 up from Shs50,000 while Shs75,000 was slapped on imported sticks. Hinge lid cigarettes were slapped with Shs80,000 while tax on imported hinge was raised to Shs100,000.
BAT also registered an increase in profit after tax of Shs13.7b from Shs12b in 2017. The growth was attributed to productivity improvements and focus on the value brands.
Mr Mathu Kiunjuri, the BAT managing director, however, said the industry continues to faces a number of challenges, key among them, illicit trade. “Continued illicit trade in cigarettes, which averaged at 22 per cent in 2018 according to the Quarterly Market Tracker, continue to be a challenge,” he said.
The cigarette industry is currently weighed down by taxes, some of which seek to reduce consumption and growth of the industry.