The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has defended the new steep taxes on car imports from July 1, 2025, citing a lengthy lag in adjusting the rates.
The taxman said the Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP)—the base price used to determine duty payable on each unit—has not been adjusted since 2019.
“In 2020, the authority’s attempt to review the CRSP was contested by stakeholders in court. As a result, the current list has remained unchanged since 2019. There has therefore been a need to review the CRSP in consultation with stakeholders to reflect emerging changes in the sector,” said KRA Commissioner of Customs and Border Control, Lilian Nyawanda, in a statement.
Dr Nyawanda further pointed out that the excise duty rate for some units has also risen to 35 percent, compared to a maximum of 30 percent in 2019.
“Furthermore, many new and more advanced vehicle models have entered the market, which are not included in the 2019 CRSP,” the official said.
Under the new CRSP that will come into force from July 1, taxes have significantly increased for most models, with small engine units like the 1.2-litre Suzuki Swift made in January 2018 set to attract taxes of Sh623,503, (145.8 percent rise) from Sh253,574 payable on a similar model with an engine of 1.29 litres.
A higher CRSP directly triggers higher taxes payable for an imported used vehicle, underlining why KRA was keen to update the list in a bid to collect more from buyers.
Car importers have opposed the new CRSP, citing the steep and yet inexplicable tax increments on most models, mostly the small engines, and also several vehicles that are missing from the list. These include Toyota Vitz (non-hybrid) and Subaru Impreza G4 (1.59 litre petrol engine).
KRA however downplayed the concerns about the “missing models” saying they would be captured in a fair valuation process.
“It is important to note the new list has more than 5,200 unique models as compared to the 2019 list, which had about 3000 models,” Dr Nyawanda said.
“Despite this expansion, some models are missing from the 2025 list because they were not found in either the Japanese Yearbooks or Goo-net. However, once the technical team agrees on additional data sources, the list will be continuously updated and made available on the KRA website” she added.
Goo-net is an online site that offers a wide selection of used cars from various dealerships and their prices throughout Japan.
KRA relied on prices of motor vehicles in Japan and complemented this with prices on Goo-net for any missing models.
