The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has introduced a new arrangement allowing licensed motor vehicle dealers to move imported second-hand cars from customs yards to their business premises before completing formal registration.
The changes, reported on November 11 and 12, follow a directive by President William Ruto aimed at changing how imported vehicles handled by licensed dealers are released.
Under the revised procedure, dealers must first declare imported vehicles through KRA's Integrated Customs Management System and pay all applicable customs duties, taxes and levies.
However, they will no longer be required to pay NTSA registration fees and levies at the initial customs clearance stage. Those payments will be made after a customer purchases the vehicle.
Before a vehicle leaves the customs-controlled facility, officers must physically inspect it and confirm that the required payments have been made.
Dealers must also obtain a special Kenya Dealer (KD) identifier through the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA). The identifier will contain the dealer's number and the vehicle's chassis number, allowing authorities to track the vehicle.
Once the checks are completed, the vehicle can be transferred to the dealer's business premises while the dealer looks for a buyer.
After a sale, the dealer must complete the formal NTSA registration process and pay the required registration charges through eCitizen.
The changes could ease cash-flow pressure for licensed car dealers because they will not have to complete registration before finding a customer.
For buyers, the new process may make it easier to find imported vehicles displayed at dealers' premises.
However, the changes do not remove import taxes, customs inspections or the requirement to register a vehicle before it is legally used on Kenyan roads.
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