Kenya: Section of Nairobi Traders Shut Shops Over Sh3.2m KRA Customs Benchmark

What the report says

Traders in parts of Nairobi shut their shops and staged street protests on Friday over a revised Kenya Revenue Authority customs benchmark for consolidated cargo. The action was reported around major commercial roads and in busy trading areas including Moi Avenue, Kenyatta Avenue and Tom Mboya Street, with videos showing closed businesses and demonstrators voicing opposition to the change.

According to Capital FM, the benchmark was raised from Sh2.5 million to Sh3.2 million, a jump traders say will worsen costs for small importers who combine shipments, often from China, to share freight and clearance expenses. Business owners in markets such as Kamukunji, Gikomba and Nyamakima had already threatened a wider shutdown. Traders interviewed by the publisher said the higher threshold would further squeeze margins and leave little room for profit.

KRA, however, said the Sh3.2 million figure is not a flat tax charged on every container. The agency described it as a risk-management benchmark used in a simplified customs clearance system, with actual tax assessed according to the goods’ value, type and classification. KRA said the benchmark was reviewed after changes in exchange rates, freight costs and tax laws, and amid concerns about undervaluation and misdeclaration.

The dispute took effect after the revised benchmark began on August 21, following a grace period. The matter is significant because it highlights tensions between revenue enforcement and the operating costs faced by small-scale traders reliant on consolidated imports.