Nairobi, Feb. 17 -- The High Court has upheld a decision by a tribunal to block the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) from reclassifying a wastewater treatment plant imported by ACO Drainage Limited, dealing a setback to the taxman's bid to impose higher duties.

The ruling ends a two-year taxation dispute over whether the equipment should be taxed as water purification machinery or as a device for treating "other liquids".

The court found that customs officials misread the tariff schedule and failed to justify shifting the importer into a costlier residual category.

The case stemmed from ACO Drainage's 2023 importation of a Rox Ecological Total Oxidation Sewage Treatment Plant, designed to treat wastewater before discharge.

The company de...