NAROBI, Kenya, Nov 7 – The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has enhanced vigilance across all ports of entry to enhance compliance with customs on restricted and prohibited items.
The taxman says that it has of late observed a high number of high-end mobile phones and undeclared as well as restricted goods such as guns, magazines, drones, pornographic material, and narcotic drugs being brought into the country at various entry points.
Cabinet Secretary (CS) for Tourism and Wildlife Alfred Mutua said that his ministry has collaborated with KRA to ensure the passenger clearance process is seamless.
“We are going to collect taxes and no one is going to feel that they are being harassed,” the CS said during a media tour of the passenger clearance terminal at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
KRA Commissioner General Humphrey Wattanga said that authority is stationed at various ports of entry for purposes of facilitating trade and the management of the entry and exit of passengers and their accompanying goods.
“We have further enhanced our processes through use of technology to aid correct identification and verification of all baggage and imported items,” Wattanga said.
“Border control is a matter of national security and we are going to collaborate with relevant agencies to ensure the public is adequately sensitized on requirements for entry into Kenya,” he added.
On her part, the Commissioner for Customs & Border Control, Lilian Nyawanda, reiterated KRA’s inter-agency collaborations on the clearance of passengers and goods across all ports of entry.
Between July and October (2023/24 financial year), KRA on average flagged out 5 percent of all scanned bags, which were processed in line with applicable Customs regulations on passenger categorization.
