The Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA) has designated more cargo transit routes in western Kenya for coverage under the East African Community customs regulations.
Commissioner of Customs and Border Control Lillian Nyawanda said transporters on the Kitale town-Endebess town-Suam River and Cheplaskei- Kapseret- Lemook swamp Bridge- Sosiani river bridge -Maili Tisa routes would now be covered by the regional trade rules.
Also read: Cross-border traders, KRA decry transit goods levies
The EAC Customs regulations demand that goods be cleared under the East Africa Community’s Single Customs Territory (SCT)– which allows members of the bloc to jointly collect customs taxes as a strategy to curb tax evasion.
Under the SCT system, importers in each of the EAC partner States are required to lodge import declaration forms in their respective home countries and pay relevant taxes upfront to facilitate the export process.
Respective revenue agencies would then issue a road manifest against the import documents submitted electronically by tax officials of the importing country to allow cross-border movement.
The routes added by KRA are close to the Kenyan border with Uganda and may be prone to abuse by smugglers and other tax evaders.
Trucks carrying customs merchandise are required to use designated routes while transporting goods within or outside the country to avoid penalties as it is mandatory to get clearance from the customs office.
In August last year, KRA gazetted Nairobi’s Southern Bypass as a transit area for customs goods, allowing truckers to use it for cargo clearance.
Some of the custom areas that are currently in use include the Malaba and Busia borders, Gilgil, Naivasha’s ICD, and Mombasa port.
The designation of the Southern Bypass as a customs area offered a reprieve to truckers, who can now avoid long queues at other customs stations such as Gilgil and the Naivasha ICD.
