The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has issued a notice that will eliminate use of bonded warehouses for these goods, meaning the benefits of delayed payments of taxes and stock management will soon disappear.

“The Commissioner of Customs and Border Control notifies the public that at the expiry of 90 days from the date of this notice, the following goods shall not be warehoused,” Pamela Ahago, who holds the office at KRA, said in a notice published in the Kenya Gazette dated May 13, 2020.

Bonded warehouses are facilities licensed by the Commissioner of Customs for the storage of dutiable goods on which import duty has not been paid.

“The above restrictions are likely to have the undesired effect of making the country uncompetitive and less attractive to investors; and is counterproductive to the government’s agenda of developing infrastructure to make Kenya a global and regional logistics hub,” business advisory firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said in a review of the policy change.

“What will happen to businesses that currently use Kenya as a regional hub, will they be allowed to warehouse goods destined for the regional export market?”