Relief For Traders As Ruto Orders KRA To Revert Cargo Valuation As Before

Relief For Traders As Ruto Orders KRA To Revert Cargo Valuation As Before

President William Ruto has ordered the reduction of the minimum customs benchmark for general containerised consolidated cargo from the new cap of Ksh3.2 million to the old cap of Ksh2 million.

While speaking at the State House on Wednesday, hosting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) traders, Ruto stated that the move is aimed at cushioning these traders from business shocks.

He has further ordered the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to compile a list of high-value items that do not qualify for consolidation and are therefore exempt from the Ksh2 million cap.

These goods will be evaluated independently from the consolidated cargo.

“Mr Commissioner General, create a list of the high-value goods and share it with these traders,” Ruto directed.

According to President Ruto, it was unfair for containers carrying goods worth millions of shillings to pay significantly lower cargo charges.

He argued that traders must contribute their fair share towards tax revenue and national development.

Ruto also ordered Kenya Railways to reduce freight charges for cargo destined for deconsolidation to Ksh10,000 in a move aimed at easing the cost of transporting goods for traders.

The president further directed Kenya Railways to rehabilitate land near the Kenya Railways Boma Line, a cargo deconsolidation and clearance facility next to Nairobi Central Railway Station.

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The facility is currently in a dilapidated state, with the rehabilitation expected to make it easier for traders with consolidated containers to unpack and clear their goods.

“I want us to agree on one thing, that land at Boma, let us come up with a plan on how we expand that place so that traders from Kisumu and Mombasa can have an easy time verifying their goods; that place should stop looking dilapidated,” Ruto added.

Ruto’s orders come as a sigh of relief to traders, especially importers who shut their Nairobi shops on August 28, marching to KRA headquarters over a 28 per cent hike in customs valuation on containers that put businesses to a halt.

The go slow hit Gikomba, Kamukunji, and Nyamakima traders hardest.

KRA called the figure a risk-management reference, not a flat tax, as Board Chair Ndiritu Muriithi urged traders to de-consolidate containers at bonded facilities, paying duty only on actual imports.

Relief For Traders As Ruto Orders KRA To Revert Cargo Valuation As Before