List Of Items Travellers Should Declare To KRA Upon Arrival To Kenya

• Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has been adamant about collecting tax on personal items belonging to travellers into the country
• KRA released a new list of items to be declared for customs upon arrival into the country
• The authority stated that all goods imported under the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA) should be declared

TUKO.co.ke journalist Wycliffe Musalia brings over five years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering deep insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

Travellers arriving in Kenya will now be required to declare personal items for customs duty.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) maintained that travellers coming into the country with imported personal items should adhere to the customs law.

In a travel advisory shared on the X platform, the taxman wants all visitors into the country with goods imported under the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA) to declare them for customs.

What travellers declare at KRA customs upon arrival

According to the taxman, travellers with the following items should declare them for customs:

• Inherited items abroad.
• Purchases from duty-free shops.
• Repairs/alterations to items taken abroad and brought back.
• Gifts
• Business-related items or merchandise.
• Currency of USD. 10,000 and above or equivalent.
• All goods whose importation is regulated under EACCMA, or by any written law.

Which goods cannot be exempted from customs?

According to KRA, the following goods shall not be exempted if the traveller arrives with them;

• Alcoholic beverages of all kinds, perfumes, spirits and tobacco and manufactures
• Fabrics in piece;
• Motor vehicles except one motor vehicle that the passenger has owned and used outside a partner State for at least twelve months;
• Any trade goods or goods for sale or disposal to other persons

What Kenyans said about KRA's move

This followed controversies in the law that called for the imposition of tax on personal items worth above USD5,000 (over KSh 75,000).

Kenyans argued that President William Ruto's government would scare away tourists with punitive taxes.

They urged KRA to focus on widening the tax bracket rather than overburdening a few taxpayers.

@cjnyongesa noted:

"Instead of increasing the tax bracket, they're burdening a few. We are focused on chasing investors and tourists. "USD 500" Ruto!"