Traders will enjoy reduced operation charges since goods will take a shorter time to be cleared at Mombasa or at any other border point of entry.
The standards watchdog says registration of traders who do combined shipment, and separate inspection of goods will result in savings, mainly through shorter turnaround time.
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) managing director Charles Ongwae says traders will enjoy reduced operation charges since goods will take a shorter time to be cleared at Mombasa or at any other border point of entry.
“No increase in cost is anticipated. On the contrary, it will make it easier for legitimate trade to flourish in a more organised way in full compliance with regulatory requirements. More people will find it easier to bring their goods through consolidation,” he said.
Kebs and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) last week issued a joint statement requiring all consolidators to register with standards agency to facilitate inspection of their goods via Route D.
Route D is where a consolidator has all their cargo inspected by a licensed inspector before packaging in a single container for shipping as one cargo.
“All consolidators for both air and sea cargo are required to register with Kebs to have their goods inspected under Route D not later than 20th April, 2018.”
“All consolidated cargo must be inspected in the country of supply by the Kebs-appointed inspection agents and issued with a Certificate of Inspection (CoI) before shipment to Kenya,” it said.
Mr Ongwae says that while it took days to have imports verified with storage charges incurred passed on to importers, the new directive will see cargo expressly cleared upon presentation of documentation prior to arrival of the cargo.
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