Safaricom Hikes Cost of Phones, SIM Cards

Safaricom has introduced changes to the prices of SIM Cards and phones to reflect newly-introduced taxes. The company confirmed that the changes would take effect on Friday, July 15.

It will cost you a total of Ksh 100 – Ksh50 for the purchase and Ksh50 for the first airtime top-up – to buy and register a SIM card up from the previous Ksh50. The move follows the introduction of a Ksh50 excise duty on imported ready-to-use SIM cards through the 2022 Finance Act.

Safaricom’s competitors, Airtel and Telkom, currently do not charge for new subscriptions. They are, however, expected to pass the new cost of the SIM card taxes onto consumers.

Phones sold by Safaricom will also cost more, to reflect a 10 per cent excise duty on the importation of cellular phones. The new prices will also reflect a 25 per cent import duty on phones contained in the East African Community Common External Tariff (CET).

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Safaricom is a major seller of phones and accessories through its network of Safaricom shops as well as its Masoko platform. It also runs various programs intended to increase access to 4G mobile devices.

“Phone prices will be adjusted to include the 10% excise tax and 25% import duty as existing stock levels are replaced with new stock on which the new taxes apply,” a statement issued by Safaricom on Thursday, July 14 read in part.

The higher prices of phones and SIM cards are set to increase the cost of communication for Kenyans already grappling with the high cost of living. Key commodities including food and fuel are currently going for record-high prices.

The annual inflation rate in Kenya hit 7.9% in June of 2022, breaching the upper limit of the Central  Bank’s target range of 2.5%-7.5% for the first time since August 2017. Inflation has been on the rise since March, partly driven by disruptions caused by the war in Ukraine.

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