The High Court has blocked the tax man from slapping a 25% duty on aluminium parts used in solar installations, a ruling that locks in duty-free treatment for a key component of the country’s renewable energy rollout.
Justice Benjamin Njoroge found that the aluminium mounting systems used to secure solar panels on rooftops qualify as structural parts under the tariff code that attracts no import duty.The court said the goods are integral to building frameworks and not miscellaneous aluminium products, which fall under the higher-tax bracket.Customs officials had sought to reclassify the imports, arguing the items were stand-alone articles of aluminium that did not amount to structures or parts of structures.
Premier Solar Solutions, the importer of the materials, countered that the kits are permanently fixed to rooftops and had consistently been cleared under the zero-duty category. The company said Customs could not abruptly change course after years of classifying identical goods the same way. The Tax Appeals Tribunal had already ruled in Premier Solar’s favor in February 2024, setting aside the tax demand.
The judge pointed to the East African Community’s tariff book, which lists aluminium structures and their parts under a clear heading, while putting everything else in a general “other articles” category.
Mounting systems for solar panels, he noted, belong in the first group since they are fixed onto rooftops, not in the catch-all bracket.