Sunday, December 24, 2023 – The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has issued seven custom taxation guidelines to Kenyans intending to travel out of the country as well as those returning.
In a notice dated Friday, December 23, the taxman outlined procedures that needed to be followed by Kenyans when travelling out of the country, including the items that are to be declared before departure.
For starters, KRA stated that items intended to be returned to Kenya should be declared upon exit.
Some of the highlighted items include filming equipment such as cameras, musical instruments, and sporting equipment.
Items temporarily exported out of the country for repair, also need to be declared.
“All arriving passengers are required to make declarations using the prescribed Passenger Declaration Form(s) (Form F88).
“Passengers with accompanied luggage are exempted on their used personal items. However, used goods imported for commercial purposes attract taxes,” read the advisory in part.
On the other hand, the taxman maintained that prohibited items such as shisha and counterfeit currency would be seized at the points of entry such as airports.
Those with any foreign currency and monetary instruments exceeding USD10,000 (Ksh1.5 million) must be declared at customs upon arrival and before departure.
“Customs Officers are permitted by the law to examine passenger’s luggage and conduct body searches based on intelligence and profiled security information possessed by Customs officers.
“However, in the process of the body search, the officer will observe high standards of human dignity,” read the statement in part.
Additionally, Kenyans with queries regarding customs were advised to only engage with uniformed Customs Officials within the baggage halls.
The advisory by the taxman comes amidst the enforcement of customs regulations at JKIA where Kenyans have been required to pay for some of the items they return to Kenya from abroad.