Business Law

In 2021, via the Finance Act 2021, Kenya adopted the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) through Section 6B of the Tax Procedures Act. This section mandated the government to create specific regulations for implementing the CRS. These Regulations act as a guide for financial institutions (like banks and investment firms) in Kenya. They outline the specific requirements for compliance that these...

Kenya’s development of a comprehensive whistleblower protection framework has been a prolonged process, spanning over two decades. This journey began in 2003 with the ratification of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), followed by a further commitment through the signing of the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combatting Corruption in 2007. Both these...

Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) issued a draft Information Technology – Artificial Intelligence – Code of Practice for AI Applications (hereinafter referred to as “the Code”) for public comments. The Code outlines recommendations to assist organizations in developing, providing, or utilizing AI systems responsibly in achieving their intended goals. The Code outlines methods...

Introduction The principal object of the Bill is to amend the Competition Act (Cap. 504) (“The Principal Act”). These amends aim to strengthen the Legal Framework governing market dynamics with an emphasis on digital markets, to enhance consumer protection in Kenya. The Bill aims at redefining critical terms, introducing new terms, proposing forward-thought provisions as well as erasing...

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has proposed the Draft Energy Electric Power Undertaking Licensing Regulations, 2024 (hereinafter referred to as the “Draft Regulations”), which could open up the market for private firms to enter into the electricity distribution market. These Draft Regulations seek to promote prudent operational practices in the exportation, importation,...

The Income Tax (Donations & Charitable Organisations Exemption) Rules, 2023 (“the Rules”) guide donors, and provide guidelines as well as the administrative procedure to be followed in granting exemptions to charitable organisations in the course of donations. To begin with, the Rules state that the Commissioner has the power to consider what counts as a charitable organisation. A...

In recent regulatory development, the Kenyan government has directed that all licensed private security officers be paid a minimum monthly gross salary of KES. 30,000. The Private Security Regulatory Authority (PSRA) Director, Fazul Mahaned, has directed that employers are required to comply with the directives, warning that any employer who fails to remunerate guards at the mandated basic...

The Digital Health Act, 2023, was enacted alongside the Social Health Insurance Act, 2023, the Primary Health Care Act, 2023, and the Facility Improvement Financing Act, 2023. All were designed to fortify Kenya’s health sector. The Digital Health Act, 2023, was enacted to provide a wider legal basis for healthcare financing, health service provision, and universal healthcare coverage, as well...

The Government of Kenya, through the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury and Economic Planning, has proposed new Transfer Pricing Rules (TPR, 2023), that, if it comes into effect, will replace the Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Rules, 2006 (TPR, 2006). Considering the rapid transactional development both at the municipal and cross-border level, it has proven to be necessary for the need...

Carbon trading involves a market-based system designed to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, especially carbon dioxide, by creating a financial incentive to do so. One may wonder how does this market work? Where does carbon offsetting fit into the picture? Transactions involve buying and selling carbon credits permits between countries, which allows the...