Major ports in Kenya for importation of used vehicles are Mombasa and Dar-Es-Salaam.
Age Restriction:
The vehicle must not be more than eight years old from the year of first registration. The difference between the registration date and the manufacturing date should not be more than a year.
Right Hand Drive:
All vehicles imported must be Right Hand Drive (RHD). However, special vehicles such as ambulance, fire engine, large construction vehicle are exempted from this ban.
Inspection
Inspection on vehicles imported to Kenya, must be done either by JEVIC (Japan Export Vehicle Inspection Center) or QISJ (Quality Inspection Services Japan) for road-worthiness. No more than 7 years after first registration year.
No more than 1 year gap between first registration year and manufactured year.
Documents Required for custom clearance:
Original Passport
Original Bill Of Lading (BOL), MASHO
Original Commercial Invoice
Pre Inspection certificate
KRA Pin card
Authentic Vehicle Logbook: Certificate of export by Dubai police or any other authority as a substitute for foreign book shall not be accepted by KRA (Kenya Revenue Authority). English translation of logbook will be provided by embassy, High Commission or consulate based in Kenya, in case logbook is in foreign language.
Taxation in Kenya:
An Import Declaration Fee (IDF) is also charged. An amount of minimum of $5,000 or 2.25% of CIF is paid prior to the application, depending whichever amount is more.
Import Duty
Excise Duty
VAT
25% of Dutiable value
20% of (Customs Value + Import Duty)
16% of (Customs Value + Import Duty + Excise Duty)
Import Taxes Rates:
Railways Development Levy: 1.5% of Custom Value.
Benefits for returning residents to Kenya:
Kenya returning resident may import one duty free vehicle.
The importer should be residing outside Kenya for at least two year and should not have visited Kenya on an average of more than 90 days.
The vehicle must be used by the importer for at least a year.
No similar exemption has been provided in the past.
Yes, the Road worthiness Inspection is required in Kenya. The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has appointed JEVIC for the conduct of the pre-export Roadworthiness Inspection (RWI) of used motor vehicles from Japan and Dubai, destined for use within the Republic of Kenya.
12. WHAT IS DRIVE AND TRAFFIC DIRECTION IN KENYA?
It is important to know that the traffic flow might be right or left. So, vehicles are manufactured in left-hand drive (LHD) and right-hand drive (RHD) configurations based driving seat and controls within the vehicle. Drive direction is the opposite of the traffic flow direction.