Nairobi, Feb. 22 -- The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has once again been blocked from charging 16 percent Value Added Tax (VAT) on fees banks receive when consumers pay for goods or services using their debit or credit cards.

It is yet another blow to the taxman's attempt to lay its hands on over Sh287 billion transacted annually by customers who run their cards through the Point of Sale (POS) machines operated by retail outlets such as supermarkets, petrol stations and hotels.

The Tax Appeals Tribunal agreed with Prime Bank that the interchange and merchant service fees it charged did not amount to payment for taxable services but the normal credit processing fee charged for facilitating the transfer of money from a customer's account...