Importers who sidestep SGR cargo services to face the law
What you need to know:
- The taxman said that although Nairobi bound, some of them use falsified Mombasa addresses to avoid transfer of cargo to the Inland Container Depot, Nairobi.
KRA commissioner of customs and border control termed this a deliberate attempt to frustrate the smooth transfer of cargo through SGR to ICD.
- The taxman further cautioned that use of wrong addresses would be treated as misdeclaration, which attracts severe penalties under the EAC Management Act.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is on the lookout for fraudulent importers who are sidestepping the standard gauge railway to ferry cargo to Nairobi.
The taxman said that although Nairobi bound, some of them use falsified Mombasa addresses to avoid transfer of cargo from the port to the Inland Container Depot (ICD), Nairobi, for clearance.
KRA commissioner of customs and border control termed this a deliberate attempt to frustrate the smooth transfer of cargo through SGR to ICD. “KRA notifies importers and the public that customs clearance shall be facilitated either in Mombasa or Nairobi only when the correct KRA Pin address has been manifested and used in customs declaration,” he said.
CARTELS
At the same time, Transport Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said the government would deal firmly with cartels entrenched at the harbour.
The taxman further cautioned that use of wrong addresses would be treated as misdeclaration, which attracts severe penalties under the East African Community Customs Management Act.
“Importers found culpable of misdeclaration shall meet the cost of transferring the cargo to the right address.”
In February, the government directed that all un-nominated containers be transported on the freight cargo train to ICD, Embakasi, for final clearance. The move caused protests from industry players, including tycoons owning Container Freight Stations and politicians led by Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, who said that transportation of cargo through the SGR would render Mombasa residents jobless.
SABOTAGE
But CS Macharia said: “People should not just look at their own small kingdoms and try to protect them against national interest. Half of the cargo will go by road and the other by train; it will benefit everybody,” he said when he toured the port three months ago.
The CS shuffled 14 out of the 16 senior managers at the port for allegedly sabotaging cargo freight. “We did an assessment of the staff in critical dockets at the port and decided to streamline operations,” said the CS. Soon, the curtain fell on Ms Catherine Mturi Wairi as managing director. On Wednesday, her 25-year career at the port ended after she was sent on compulsory leave, with Dr Daniel Manduku replacing her in an acting capacity.
