The association wants a standard TRA fee of Sh12,000 per annum for bars and restaurants, not pegged to turnover. Metropolitan Small and Medium Liquor Traders Association, (MELTA) chairman Frank Mbogo. /JACKTONE LAWI Metropolitan Small and Medium Liquor Traders Association, (MELTA) chairman Frank Mbogo.
The association said elite institutions such as members’ clubs and large hotels generate billions in annual revenue, yet their TRA fees remain comparatively low. In contrast, small and medium-sized bars and restaurants with annual sales in the range of Sh5 million to Sh7 million are charged tens of thousands of shillings in annual TRA fees, raising concerns over fairness and proportionality.
“As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure our TRA fee structure remains fair, transparent, and sustainable, we have developed an overview of how fees are currently allocated across different types of businesses and organizations within our ecosystem,” said Chairman-Melta Kenya Frank Mbogo MELTA notes that this imbalance is compounded by the wide range of additional statutory costs that SMEs must shoulder, including business permits, liquor licenses, environmental compliance under NEMA, health and food hygiene certifications, fire safety approvals, music copyright fees, and multiple tax obligations tied to agencies such as the Kenya Revenue Authority.
The association argues that, the current TRA fee structure is not only unjust, it is economically counterproductive. “A bar or restaurant with an annual sale of Sh7 million operates on a daily revenue of approximately Sh19,200 less than the cost of a single standard room at Serena Hotel, which goes for Sh35,000 a night.
Yet that same small bar is charged up to Sh85,000 in annual TRA fees,” said Mbogo. Meanwhile, air travel and tour operators some of whom sell a single business class ticket from Nairobi to Europe for Sh650,000 pay a flat standard fee of just Sh21,000 per year, with no link to their turnover whatsoever.