The age rule, the mandatory inspection, the documents your clearing agent must be handed at Mombasa, and everything payable before the vehicle is released.
Fail either one and the vehicle does not clear. Both are checkable before you part with any money.
The vehicle must not be more than 8 years old, counted from the date of first registration.
This trips people up constantly, because the model year on the brochure and the first registration date are often different. A unit built late in one year and registered early the next is judged on the registration date. Always work from the export certificate, never the advert.
The vehicle must undergo pre-shipment inspection in the country of export and be issued with a certificate before loading.
The inspection covers roadworthiness, mechanical condition, mileage verification and conformity with Kenyan standards. The certificate must travel with the shipment as an original.
Enter the year of first registration from the logbook or export certificate.
Enter the year of first registration printed on the vehicle logbook or export certificate.
On arrival at the port of discharge, the following must be presented to the clearing agent for clearance.
Copies of the consignee's national ID and KRA PIN must be furnished to the clearing agent. Get these to your agent early — they are the easiest item on the list to forget and the whole entry waits on them.
Document couriers lose envelopes. If originals arrive after the vessel, the vehicle sits in the yard and customs warehouse charges start accruing against you. Tracking these documents from issue to the agent's desk is a large part of what we do.
Four categories fall due. Three of them are unavoidable. The fourth is entirely avoidable, and it is the one that catches people out.
Import duty, excise duty, VAT, the Import Declaration Fee and the Railway Development Levy — assessed on the customs value KRA determines.
Payable to the port authority for discharging, moving and storing the unit while it is in the terminal.
The licensed agent's charge for lodging the entry, presenting documents and getting the unit released.
If any. These accrue when a unit overstays because documents were late or the entry was lodged slowly. Move fast and this line is zero.
Customs warehouse and demurrage charges are the single most common way an otherwise good import turns expensive. They are caused by paperwork arriving late, not by anything wrong with the vehicle. Every day the unit sits on the yard is money.
Each stage depends on the one before it. Skip a step and you discover the problem at the most expensive possible moment.
Check the date of first registration against the 8-year rule before any deposit changes hands. This is the cheapest check available and the most expensive one to skip.
Arranged in the country of export. The unit is examined and the certificate issued. Nothing loads without it.
Inspection certificate, both copies of the bill of lading, certificate of export and the commercial invoice — collected, tracked and routed to the clearing agent.
The consignee's identity documents go to the agent so the entry can be raised in the correct name.
Customs duties and levies, port handling and agent fees settled. Any customs warehouse charges cleared.
The unit leaves the port, goes through NTSA registration, and the logbook is issued in the owner's name.
Import rules, duty rates and levies in Kenya are amended from time to time, most often through the annual Finance Act. The requirements set out on this page reflect the standing rules for used vehicle imports, but always confirm current rates with KRA, KEBS and your clearing agent before committing funds — or simply ask us and we will confirm them for your specific vehicle.
Send us the vehicle details and we will confirm eligibility, documents and the full cost before you commit a shilling.
