Taxes on Importing a Car to Kenya: What You Pay and How KRA Values It

When you import a car to Kenya you pay five charges at the port: import duty of 35 percent, excise duty of 10 to 35 percent depending on the car, VAT of 16 percent, an Import Declaration Fee of 2.5 percent and a Railway Development Levy of 2 percent. On a used car, these are built on a customs value that KRA works out from its own price list, so the bill can look very different from what the seller’s invoice suggests.

These rates are the ones in force when this article was published. Some are reset every year, so confirm them before you commit to a car.

The five charges

Charge	Rate	Charged on	Source
Import duty	35%	Customs value	EAC Gazette No. 16 of 30 June 2026, item 214
Excise duty	10% to 35% (see below)	Customs value plus import duty	Excise Duty Act, s. 9 and First Schedule
VAT	16%	Customs value, plus import duty and excise duty	VAT Act, s. 5 and s. 14
Import Declaration Fee	2.5%	Customs value	Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act, s. 7
Railway Development Levy	2%	Customs value	Same Act, s. 8

Excise depends on the car:

• 1,500 cc or less: 20 percent.
• Above 1,500 cc: 25 percent.
• Tariff numbers 8703.24.90 and 8703.33.90: 35 percent. KRA describes this group as petrol cars above 3,000 cc and diesel cars above 2,500 cc.
• Fully electric cars of the listed tariff numbers: 10 percent.
• Antique, vintage and classic cars: 50 percent. Under the Finance Act 2026, that means first registered at least 30 years before purchase and valued at KES 10 million or more.

The 35 percent import duty is granted for one year at a time, so check the next EAC Gazette if your car will land after June 2027. Some KRA pages still show import duty of 25 percent and an Import Declaration Fee of 3.5 percent. Those figures do not match the Gazette and the Act.

A worked example

This is an example only. The customs value is an assumed round figure, not a KRA value for any real car. It is a petrol car of 1,800 cc with an assumed customs value of KES 1,000,000.

Step	Calculation	KES
Import duty	35% of 1,000,000	350,000
Excise duty	25% of 1,350,000	337,500
VAT	16% of 1,687,500	270,000
Import Declaration Fee	2.5% of 1,000,000	25,000
Railway Development Levy	2% of 1,000,000	20,000
Total charges		1,002,500

The charges come to slightly more than the customs value itself, before clearing, port and registration costs.

How KRA values a used car

KRA says the customs value of a used car is its Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP), a price list KRA keeps by make and model, reduced for depreciation. Under KRA’s notice in force from 1 September 2023, age runs from the year of first registration:

Age	Depreciation
Over 1, up to 2 years	20%
Over 2, up to 3 years	30%
Over 3, up to 4 years	40%
Over 4, up to 5 years	50%
Over 5, up to 6 years	55%
Over 6, up to 7 years	60%
Over 7, up to 8 years	65%

KRA uses a valuation template for the final figure, so get the number from the template or your agent, rather than doing the sum from the list yourself.

Which list applies is unsettled. KRA published a new list to start on 1 July 2025, covering over 5,200 models. The High Court suspended it at the end of June 2025. The case may still be in court, and it is not clear which list is in use. We could not confirm the position from KRA. Before you pay the seller, ask KRA’s valuation team or your clearing agent for the value of your exact model, and get it in writing.

Checks before you buy

• Age limit. The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) bars used cars more than eight years old, counted from the year of first registration. For 2026 it allowed only cars first registered from 1 January 2019, and late arrivals face rejection at the importer’s cost. The cut-off moves, so confirm it for the year your car will land.
• Inspection and steering. KRA requires right-hand drive and a roadworthiness inspection by a KEBS-appointed agent in the country of export.
• Export declaration. Since 1 September 2026, section 23B of the Tax Procedures Act requires importers to obtain an export document from the country of export and keep it for five years. Without it, KRA can reject your claims on value and set the customs value from what it has. See our Finance Act 2026 briefing.
• Returning residents. Kenyans moving home may qualify for relief on one car, on strict conditions set by KRA. The Railway Development Levy still applies.
• Cash. If you import for resale, these charges fall due long before a buyer pays you. Our cash flow guide explains why that gap matters.

If you are importing through a business, talk to our tax team about how the purchase sits in your records.