Containers at the port of Mombasa. The 100 per cent cargo verification is a risk management tool by Kenya Revenue Authority could cause a new round of delays in cargo clearance. Photo/File
What you need to know:
The 100 per cent cargo verification is a risk management tool that Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has adopted to test quantities and values of cargo declared by importers.
Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (Kifwa) accused the taxman of causing new round of delays in cargo clearance by insisting on the 100 per cent verification.
The taxman will continue to subject small cargo passing through the ports to the time-consuming search to seal off the avenues for revenue leakages, a top official said, setting ground for a standoff with importers.
The 100 per cent cargo verification is a risk management tool that Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has adopted to test quantities and values of cargo declared by importers, Commissioner for Customs Beatrice Memo said yesterday.
“We will continue targeting cargo based on level of risk assessment,” Ms Memo said in a statement sent to the Business Daily, adding that only importers with a background of honesty may avoid the tedious process.
The statement comes a day after members of the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (Kifwa) accused the taxman of causing new round of delays in cargo clearance by insisting on 100 per cent verification.
Kifwa chairman Boaz Makomere accused KRA of ordering its officers to undertake physical verification of cargo without providing them with adequate resources.
“The major concern is that the port service providers do not have adequate resources to effectively undertake this exercise,” Mr Makomere said in a statement.
The clearing agents have also locked horns with KRA over the slow pace of collecting the railway development levy (RDL) that has caused congestion at airports and Mombasa port.
Ms Memo acknowledged that the current hitch in cargo clearance was caused by delay in upgrading the simba system. She said the normal pace speed would resume this week after adjustments to enable automatic computation of RDL along other taxes.
The taxman also vowed to continue with its audit of operations of all container freight stations (CFS) at the port of Mombasa and bonded warehouses.
