KRA announces new valuation rules for used car imports from July 1, 2025

Imported cars being offloaded at Mombasa Port. (Photo: X/Kenya Ports Authority)

By Rachael Mutabasi
Friday, May 30, 2025

KRA announced that the revised CRSP schedule will be applied in determining the customs value of used motor vehicles brought into the country.

Second-hand car imports into Kenya will be subject to new valuation rules starting July 1, 2025, following the release of an updated Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) schedule by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

In a public notice, KRA announced that the revised CRSP schedule will be applied in determining the customs value of used motor vehicles brought into the country.

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"The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) wishes to inform the public that, effective 1st July, 2025, a new Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) schedule will be applied in the computation of customs value for used motor vehicles imported into the country," stated KRA.

The KRA stated that the changes come after an extensive engagement process with stakeholders.

The authority noted that feedback received during these consultations played a key role in shaping the final CRSP schedule.

"The updated CRSP list has been published on the KRA website. Importers and other stakeholders are therefore encouraged to visit the page and familiarise themselves with the new list and acquaint themselves with the changes," said the Authority.

Earlier, KRA was sued over claims that it failed to conduct public participation before implementing the 2019 CRSP. The court found the guide unconstitutional on those grounds.

In one of the submissions to the court, it was revealed that KRA had listed the price of a new Subaru Forester at Sh6.39 million, while its actual showroom sticker price was Sh4.38 million. The discrepancy resulted in importers being slapped with an additional tax burden of more than Sh1 million on the model.

The current tax structure on second-hand vehicles imported from markets such as Japan, the UK, and South Africa includes an import duty of 35 per cent, excise duty ranging from 25 per cent to 35 per cent depending on engine size, and a value-added tax of 16 per cent.

The taxes are applied cumulatively and in that order, starting with the CRSP, which allows for a maximum depreciation rate of 65 per cent based on the eight-year import limit.

This means that even slight inflation of the base value can significantly increase the overall tax burden. In the petition filed by the Car Importers Association, the court heard that KRA had arbitrarily applied higher price lists, leaving some importers with unexpected additional tax obligations running into millions of shillings.