Nairobi’s commercial streets went quiet on August 28, 2026. Along Moi Avenue, Kenyatta Avenue and Tom Mboya Street, traders pulled down their shutters and marched to Times Tower, protesting a Customs change they say could bury small importers.
The dispute is over a single number: Sh3.2 million, the new minimum benchmark for a 40-foot container carrying consolidated goods, up from Sh2.5 million.
KRA says the Sh3.2 million benchmark is provided for under the East African Community Customs Management Act’s customs valuation framework and is not a new tax or a law passed by Parliament.
That figure had remained unchanged since the 2022/23 financial year. Since then, the shilling has weakened, freight costs have shifted and import volumes have grown. KRA argues those changes justified revisiting a three-year-old benchmark rather than leaving it untouched indefinitely.
The revised figure was due to take effect on July 1, but after pushback from traders and freight agents, implementation was delayed to August 20 to allow negotiations. It came into force regardless.
Consolidation exists to help small traders.
Several importers share one container and split shipping costs instead of paying for half-empty containers. KRA’s complaint is that the same arrangement has also become a loophole. By pooling goods into one container and clearing it under a single reference value, some importers, particularly of high-value electronics and smartphones, have underdeclared cargo, misclassified goods or concealed items to reduce duty.
Crucially, KRA insists Sh3.2 million is not a flat tax slapped on every container. It describes the minimum yield as a risk-management filter, not the actual tax liability. Containers below the benchmark qualify for simplified clearance, while traders who dispute the valuation can request individual assessment based on the actual value of their goods.
The authority also says traders are not locked into the consolidated system. They may opt out of the simplified arrangement and have containers verified on actual value, or de-consolidate cargo into individual consignments so each importer pays duty on their own goods.
None of this makes traders’ anxiety irrational. A 28 percent jump, or an extra Sh700,000 per container, hits hardest for thin-margin retailers whose business models were built around the previous threshold. De-consolidation also brings more paperwork, inspections and clearance costs.
The Small Traders Association has vowed weekly protests until KRA returns to the negotiating table. But the legal architecture is not entirely KRA’s to bargain away.
The authority may adjust the threshold, extend the grace period or refine implementation, but it maintains that containers benefiting from undervaluation cannot remain outside the customs net indefinitely.