The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has relaxed a new rule that requires all imports to be accompanied by a Certificate of Origin (COO), exempting some items from the regulations that take effect on October 1, 2025.
The taxman has also opened a window in which alternative clearance documents would be accepted in exceptional cases where a COO is not available. A COO is a critical export document that verifies the country where goods were grown, manufactured, or produced.
This marks a major relief to importers who had protested the introduction of COO on imported secondhand vehicles and other preferential products, terming it duplicative and adding to the cost of doing business.
“To facilitate smooth implementation, the authority provided a transition window up to September 30, 2025. Importers are reminded that, with effect from October 1, 2025, all consignments imported into Kenya must fully comply with Section 44A of the Tax Procedures Act, CAP. 469B, with a few exceptional cases to which provisional measures have been adopted for ease of compliance,” KRA said.
The taxman said in exceptional cases where a COO is not available at the time of importation, it would accept alternative documentation including origin declaration bearing origin details, export permit or licence issued by the exporting country’s competent authority, customs export declaration from the exporting country or a pre-verification of conformity certificate issued by an agent recognised by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
And in a further relief to importers, KRA exempted 10 product categories from the COO rule.
Some of the goods which have been exempted from the new protocols include goods imported by privileged persons and institutions as provided in the Fifth Schedule to the East African Community Customs Management Act 2004 (EACCMA 2004), used goods including used motor vehicles (covered under the 5th Schedule of EACCMA 2004), personal baggage and personal effects, and individual packages that do not exceed the weight and value outlined in Regulation 119 (30) of the EACCMA, imported through a registered courier.
Other goods exempted include mailbags and postal parcels imported by post (Section 36 of EACCMA and Regulations 112 & 119 of EACCMA 2010), human remains, imported samples of no commercial value, temporary imports under Section 117 of EACCMA 2004, and small packages of medicaments under a doctor’s prescription.
The Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK) chairman, Peter Otieno, lauded KRA’s decision to review the COO regulations, saying it would curb avoidable increases in the cost of doing business.
The CIAK had argued that car importation involves documents, including logbooks, export papers, and inspection certificates, which already contain sufficient information to verify the origin of the units.
The association warned that the COO requirement would inflate paperwork costs by about Sh2billion annually, which would be passed on to buyers.
Shippers Council of Eastern Africa CEO Agayo Ogambi said the KRA move would save traders a fortune.
“The impressive Sh879 billion customs revenue generated last year will definitely not be threatened since Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), which are recognized as the engine of Kenya’s economy and employ millions of citizens, will not be much affected."
