KRA Boss Pushes for Easier Cargo Clearance for Small Traders

Small-scale importers could find it easier to collect their goods without paying costs linked to other traders’ consignments if proposed changes to the handling of consolidated cargo are adopted.

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Board Chairman Ndiritu Muriithi wants the process of de-consolidating shared containers to be improved so that traders can clear and collect only the goods they actually imported.

Muriithi says the current system can create unnecessary difficulties for traders whose goods arrive in the same container as consignments belonging to several other importers.

Under consolidated shipping, different traders share space in one container instead of each paying to ship a full container. The arrangement is particularly useful to small businesses importing goods in smaller quantities.

However, once the container arrives, the goods have to be removed, identified and separated before each importer can complete the clearance and collection process.

Muriithi said the system should be built around a simple principle: traders should pay for their own goods rather than becoming responsible for the entire container.

“If your goods are in the container, you should pay for your goods and receive your goods. If another person’s goods are in the container, they should pay for theirs,” he said.

He used everyday items to explain the point, saying an importer bringing in a fridge should not have to deal with the costs and complications attached to another trader’s camera, electronics or other merchandise.

The chairman called for proper de-consolidation facilities where containers can be opened and their contents separated according to the individual owners before the goods are cleared.

“That is the answer. We need a facility for de-consolidation,” he said.

The proposal is not entirely new. KRA has previously designated facilities for de-consolidating cargo imported by small-scale traders. In Nairobi, the Kenya Railways Boma Line Transit Shed was established as a national de-consolidation centre, allowing consolidated cargo to be separated, cleared and collected by individual owners.

KRA has said such facilities can reduce clearance times and the cost of moving goods, while allowing customs officials to verify individual consignments rather than treating an entire container as one shipment.

Muriithi’s remarks come at a time when consolidated cargo has become a major concern for small importers. Earlier this year, traders and freight industry groups also raised concerns over proposed changes to the valuation of consolidated cargo, with KRA temporarily suspending new benchmark values after consultations with the industry.

For traders, the concern is not only the tax payable on their goods. Delays in separating consignments can expose importers to additional handling, storage, transport and other charges, making a shipment that was initially affordable considerably more expensive.

KRA is also introducing wider changes to cargo processing. On August 3, 2026, the authority launched its Advance Cargo Declaration platform for containerised cargo, requiring shipment information to be submitted before goods are loaded for Kenya. The system is intended to improve cargo tracking and allow Customs to process information earlier.

Muriithi’s proposed approach would therefore seek to make the final stage of the process as straightforward as the initial shipping arrangement.

For thousands of small traders who depend on shared containers because they cannot afford to import a full container on their own, a faster and clearer de-consolidation system could mean lower costs, fewer delays and easier access to their goods.

The underlying message from the KRA chairman is that sharing a container should allow traders to share shipping space, not make one trader carry the burden of everyone else’s cargo.