NAIROBI, KENYA — President William Ruto has directed the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to review the recently hiked Ksh3.2 million customs benchmark on consolidated cargo and restore lower operational thresholds, delivering a major relief to small-scale importers across the country.
Speaking while hosting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) traders at State House, Nairobi, on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, the Head of State intervened following intense street protests by small-scale traders against the Ksh700,000 customs valuation increase introduced in August.
Addressing the traders’ grievances, President Ruto instructed the tax authority to restore the benchmark for general containerised consolidated cargo to the previous Ksh2.5 million threshold, while maintaining that ordinary, non-high-value containers should continue to pay Ksh2 million.
To prevent high-value importers from exploiting the framework designed to cushion small businesses, President Ruto ordered KRA to immediately draft and formally communicate an exclusive list of high-value items that will not qualify for consolidation.
“Mr Commissioner General, create a list of the high-value goods and share it with these traders,” President Ruto directed. “Kama hakuna high-value items, tupunguze bei mpaka Ksh.2 million. Container ambayo haina high-value items tuendelee na bei ya zamani.”
The President defended the core practice of cargo consolidation, likening it to the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) model, where smallholder farmers pool produce to gain market access. He stressed that combining shipments enables small merchants importing goods worth modest amounts to split transport expenses instead of shouldering the costs of an entire container independently.
“Consolidation is the right thing to do. It enables everybody in their smallness and in their sizes to be able to do their business by pulling together,” Ruto said, while emphasizing that all citizens must still pay fair taxes to fund public services.
Alongside the customs tax adjustment, President Ruto announced significant cuts to freight and logistics costs. He directed Kenya Railways to slash container transport charges for cargo undergoing deconsolidation to Ksh10,000, down from figures previously ranging between Ksh55,000 and Ksh75,000.
Additionally, the Head of State ordered Kenya Railways to urgently rehabilitate and expand the dilapidated cargo facility at the Kenya Railways Boma Line near the Nairobi Central Railway Station, ensuring seamless verification and clearance for traders operating from Mombasa to Kisumu.
