Nairobi, March 8 -- Patients using weight-gain drugs have been handed relief after the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) blocked the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) from imposing taxes on the medications.

The tribunal ruled that a drug used to help thin people gain weight is not a supplement but a medicine that should be exempted from value-added tax (VAT) and import duty.

The taxman had demanded additional taxes from Harleys Limited for the import of Tres Orix Forte, a drug used to alleviate all types of anorexia in adults and children.

Anorexia is an eating disorder characterised by an abnormally low body weight, with an unwarranted fear of being overweight. Tres Orix Forte helps stimulate the mind to eat which slows down the metabolism and as...