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The High Court has struck out a Law Society of Kenya (LSK) petition against higher excise stamp fees set by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Daily Nation reported on Saturday. Justice Roselyn Aburili ruled that LSK filed the case before Parliament had finished scrutinising the 2023 regulations. As a result, the court could not decide whether KRA had met constitutional requirements. These cover public participation, regulatory impact assessment and parliamentary scrutiny. The dispute concerns stamps on beer, spirits, cigarettes, bottled water, soft drinks, juices and cosmetics. The stamps help identify genuine goods, track products and enforce excise duty. Manufacturers and importers pay for each stamp issued. Under the new rules, the fee on beer bottles doubled from KSh 1.50 to KSh 3. The fee on cosmetics stamps more than tripled to KSh 2.50 each. LSK argued that the changes were introduced unlawfully and would push up costs for businesses and consumers. It said public participation was inadequate. It added that the rules were published and enforced before the required process was complete. According to LSK, the final rules were identical to the draft and no regulatory impact statement was prepared. It said the instrument also did not reach Parliament within seven sitting days. LSK further argued that stamp charges should support tax compliance, not raise revenue. It asked the court to nullify Legal Notice No.…