The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has ended a nine-year single-supplier arrangement for electronic cargo seals, opening the market to 15 approved vendors in a move it says will ease shortages of tracking devices and shorten clearance queues at borders and ports.

Under the new Multi-Vendor User-Owned Electronic Seals Framework announced this week, importers, exporters, transporters and clearing agents can choose among participating providers. The seals may be owned and managed either by the vendors or by the users themselves, depending on the commercial agreements they strike.

Shortages and ageing devices

Electronic seals are fixed to trucks and containers so that customs officers can follow goods in transit and detect tampering without repeatedly stopping vehicles for physical checks. Since 2017, KRA relied on a single vendor to supply and manage the devices.

Traders had complained that seals were often unavailable at tagging points and that ageing devices sometimes failed, holding up trucks. KRA Commissioner for Customs and Border Control Lilian Nyawanda said the framework responds to these shortages and to problems with old equipment, adding that better devices should also reduce false alerts that slow enforcement.

All seals will have to connect to the East African Community's Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS), which KRA says will allow it to keep "real-time monitoring and end-to-end visibility of cargo under Customs control".

The Star reports that border delays and non-tariff barriers cost between $43 million (about Sh5.6 billion) and $54 million (about Sh6.9 billion) a year. KRA credits electronic tracking with reducing cargo diversion, smuggling and theft. The full list of approved vendors has been posted on its website.

New rule for shared shipments

In a separate public notice dated October 27, KRA directed consolidators, customs agents and importers handling consolidated cargo, where goods for several buyers share one container, to declare details of each individual importer.

  • Names, KRA PINs, ID numbers and phone numbers of each importer
  • A description and value of each importer's goods
  • Electronic tax invoices to be issued through eTIMS

The taxman says the rule will allow VAT-registered importers to claim input VAT on their goods and will improve transparency and fair competition in a segment widely used by small traders bringing in goods from China.

More changes coming

The measures add to a string of customs changes. KRA has already announced mandatory digital marine cargo insurance for all imports from November 1, with policies to be bought from insurers licensed by the Insurance Regulatory Authority. Stakeholders including bonded warehouse operators have been asked to plan for the transition.

Photos: KRA handout via The Star. Thumbnail design: HAMASTA MEDIA.