The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has stepped up the war against counterfeits, introducing a smartphone application that can be used to verify genuine products.

Dealers in beer, wines and spirits and tobacco can now verify the authenticity of the products before buying them and ultimately selling them to the public.

Any trader who fails to verify the products and proceeds to sell them to the public risks prosecution and forfeiture of the goods.

In a public notice published in local dailies on Wednesday, the KRA informed manufacturers, importers, distributors, retailers, consumers, and the public that it had introduced the smartphone application for verifying excise stamps bearing QR (quick response) codes.

A QR code is the trademark for a type of matrix barcode or two-dimensional barcode, first designed for the automotive industry in Japan.

QR reader

A barcode is a machine-readable optical label that contains information about the item on which it is attached.

The KRA's new move targets suppliers and agencies handling products whose local market has been infiltrated by fake products.

“All persons in the supply chain handling wines, tobacco, spirits and beer are required to verify the products before receiving them into their premises or offering them for sale,” read the press notice.

The verification app can be downloaded from Google Playstore, says the notice.

The war on counterfeit products, especially wines and spirits, has been intensified especially after scores of people died or were blinded after consuming illicit alcoholic drinks, some of which bore the labels of established manufacturers.