The Kenya Revenue Authority has given customs agents, transporters conveying transit goods and other goods, and operators of bonded warehouses, Manufacture Under Bond (MUB), and transit godowns 31 days to renew licenses ahead of their looming expiry on December 31, 2025.
KRA urged the critical players in exports, imports, storage, and transportation of goods to submit the applications before October 31, 2025, and adhere to the set directives as they make their applications.
Customs Agents
For customs agents seeking to have their licenses renewed, KRA directed that applicants submit their applications through the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) platform.
The applicants were to accompany their submissions with a duly filled form C20, current (2024) Certificate of Registration (CR12/CR13), and a valid tax compliance certificate for the company.
Other requirements were a Certificate of Bond and debt clearance, a copy of the previous C21 license, and a Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA) clearance certificate for the year of application.
In Kenya, customs agents, sometimes called clearing and forwarding agents or customs brokers, are licensed professionals or firms who facilitate the import and export of goods by handling all the necessary customs procedures on behalf of traders. They act as intermediaries between importers/exporters and the KRA Customs and Border Control Department.
Transporters
Also, the Authority urged transporters conveying transit goods and other goods under customs control to make their applications for their respective C28 and C40 licenses.
Conditions mandatory when applying for the renewal of the license include a copy of the motor vehicle logbook, a copy of a valid insurance certificate, a copy of the COMESA Yellow card for foreign vehicle/Insurance cover, and a duly filled application form signed and stamped by a Customs Officer.
Further, applicants are required to pay a compulsory license fee of $200 (Ksh25,873) for each license sought.
Applications are to be submitted through the Customs regional offices in Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret, or Nairobi.
For transporters, their main job is to physically move goods from one point to another, whether within Kenya, into Kenya, or across Kenya to neighbouring countries such as Burundi, Tanzania, South Sudan, among others.
Operators of Bonded Warehouses, Manufacture Under Bond (MUB), and Transit Godowns
Another notice issued on license renewal was to operators of bonded warehouses, Manufacture Under Bond (MUB), and transit godowns.
For them, KRA required a copy of a valid license for the year 2025, a copy of valid relevant security bonds, the current CR12 of the company, and a copy of the title or valid lease agreement whose duration is longer than the term of the license.
Other requirements were a copy of the current tax compliance certificate for the company, a copy of the current tax compliance certificate for each of the Company’s directors, audited annual accounts for the Company for the previous financial year (2024), and a C18 duly completed, signed, and stamped by the Operator and Customs Officer.
KRA noted that submission of the documents would not automatically guarantee renewal of a license, as the applicant would still undergo further vetting by KRA.
A bonded warehouse is a storage facility licensed by KRA where imported goods can be stored without paying import duties/taxes upfront until they are either released for local consumption, re-exported, or transferred under another customs procedure.
They are commonly used by importers storing bulk commodities, traders awaiting favourable market conditions before paying duties and releasing goods, and for temporary storage for goods pending re-export to other countries.
MUB is an incentive scheme managed by the Kenya Investment Authority (KenInvest) together with KRA, allowing manufacturers to import raw materials, machinery, and inputs duty-free, on condition that finished products are exported out of Kenya, or supplied to another duty-exempt regime.
Meanwhile, a transit godown is a customs-licensed facility where transit goods, which are goods passing through Kenya enroute to another country, can be stored temporarily under customs control.
