Petitioners withdraw case challenging fuel tax, State to pay them Ksh.350K

Three petitioners who had successfully petitioned the High Court to stop implementation of the 16 percent Value Added Tax (V.A.T) on fuel have withdrawn the case.

This is after the parties in the case entered a consent that will see the three Kisumu residents paid Ksh.350,000 by the State as cost of the suit.

The new development means that there are no orders stopping the enforcement of the fuel tax. The only pending case of the matter is the petition filed activist Okiya Omtatah which is yet to be heard and determined.

The High Court in Bungoma had suspended the 16 percent tax on fuel pending the hearing and determination of the case filed by Titus Alila, Jackline Otieno, and Francis Ogada.

The three had sued the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich for allowing  implementation of the tax.

Meanwhile, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the Attorney General have been given seven days to file their responses in a case filed by activist Omtatah challenging the 16 percent VAT on petroleum products.

High Court Judge Chacha Mwita on Monday directed the parties to file and serve their submissions before October 6, 2018 when the matter will be mentioned.