Boon for travellers as EAC raises limit on untaxed personal items
Passengers queue as their valuables are screened at the International Arrivals Terminal 1A at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on November 7, 2023.
The value of personal effects that passengers can bring into Kenya without being taxed has been raised to $2,000 (Sh259,477) from $500 (Sh64,887.31), handing a major relief for thousands of travellers long inconvenienced by product seizures by tax officials at the various ports of entry.
This follows the gazettement of Legal Notice No.167 of 2024 by the East African Community (EAC) through which the bloc’s Council of Ministers amended Paragraph 9 of the fifth Schedule of the EAC Customs Management Act (EACCMA)—raising the threshold effective July 1, 2024.
“Goods up to the value of [$2,000] for each traveller ... shall be exempted when imported by the traveller in his or her accompanied baggage or upon his or her person and declared by him or her to an officer provided that the person has been outside the partner states for a period in excess of 24 hours,” the notices reads in part.
The Fifth Schedule of EACCMA has Parts A and B, with the former dealing with specific exemptions to customs duty while the latter deals with general exemptions.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) in 2016 set the maximum duty collected on personal effects at Sh50,000 in a bid to speed up clearance of passengers at international airports and listed the items to be subjected to customs taxes at the arrival and departure terminals.
All the taxable items attract levies at rates determined by the value of money paid at a foreign country rather than factors such as quality, size, or weight, the guidelines state.
The guidelines came in the wake of complaints lodged by passengers arriving at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) from Dubai and China that they were subjected to extortionist rates, unlike their counterparts from America and Europe.
Passengers departing from Kenya are currently required to fill in a Temporary Importation Form-P45- to declare items being shipped overseas for repair and the accompanying tools and show the receipt during return as a declaration.
Passenger declaration
Furthermore, items bought and carried for business promotional and commercial purposes need to be declared during departure for purposes of taxes on return. Electronics like phones, video recorders, and projectors bought while on a trip to Kenya and currency exceeding Sh1.29 million ($10,000) must also be declared at customs before departure.
Passengers arriving in Kenya are also required to fill passenger declaration form stating the amount paid for each item including the taxes. Items intended for sale or for use in a business including those being brought back to Kenya after they are used commercially must be declared too.
At the arrival desk, a traveller is expected to declare newly acquired items whether they were bought, inherited, or gifted and any other items bought exceeding the limits of duty-free shops. Donations are also not exempt from taxes unless in situations where a Pro 1B document (mostly accompanying diplomatic goods) and a special letter from the Treasury are produced.
In the 2023/2024 financial year, KRA collected Sh791.37 billion from customs duty, growing the tax head’s collection by 4.94 percent year-on-year but missing the set target by some Sh45.17 billion.
