The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Monday, July 24, announced an increase in customs collection growth at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) from Ksh46.9 billion to Ksh49 billion.
The collection is custom payments charged on goods brought in by passengers including tourists as well as cargo shipped into the countries using aircraft.
"Being the ideal gateway into and out of East and Central Africa, cargo handled at the JKIA has significantly increased following the reopening of the economy after the pandemic," KRA announced in a statement.
KRA collected KSh5.388 billion against a target of KSh4.806 billion from air navigation service charge, which is levied on planes landing at the airport.
JKIA is the largest and busiest gateway to East and Central Africa, receiving about 7 million passengers annually.
The growth in passenger numbers and cargo has seen the KRA outperform its target.
"The revenue collection reflects a performance rate of 112%. The collection represents a 31.91% growth in revenue compared to the same period in the financial year 2021/2022," KRA noted on revenue growth from air navigation services.
KRA said in a statement that the country has recorded an increase in the number of travelers in major airports, leading to the growth of charges on air travel.
"KRA collected KShs 11.570 billion from the air passenger services charge at JKIA against a target of KShs 8.037 billion. This translates to an excellent performance rate of 114%," the taxman noted.
According to the economic survey 2023, Kenyan airports in 2022 recorded about 10.2 million passengers with a majority using the country's main airport.
Other airports include Moi International Airport in Mombasa, Kisumu International Airport, and Eldoret International Airport among others.
Wilson Airport, which is mostly used for domestic travel and chartered air services, is the second busiest airport in the country after JKIA.
KRA has also attributed the increase in collection to systems that have improved efficiency at the major airports.
"It now takes a minute to scan a container and approximately five minutes to analyse an image of the cargo contents. This has in turn substantially addressed congestion at the entry points," KRA noted.
To ensure continued growth, KRA has affirmed that it will continue to invest in other non-technological interventions to enhance its mandate under C&BC.
On July 14, KRA announced it had surpassed the Ksh2 trillion mark in the financial year 2022/2023. This was equivalent to a 6 per cent growth despite the tough economic times.
KRA collected Ksh2.166 trillion between July 2022 and June 2023 compared to Ksh2.031 trillion in the previous financial year.
