The Kenya Revenue Authority is banking on new-modern scanners at the port of Mombasa and a heightened collaboration with other global entities to curtail illicit trade through the port of Mombasa.
This is in a renewed effort to curb tax cheats and increase its import duty collections, which have been hampered by mis-declaration and concealment of cargo on imported containarised goods.
The authority is installing three state-of-the-art movable scanners at the port of Mombasa which will help in its anti-graft war, KRA commissioner general John Njiraini said in an interview, adding that an integrated scanner management solution is also being developed.
“The technology is being put in place so we can see everything that is happening in Mombasa, we can see what is happening at the Inland Container Depot (Nairobi), see what is happening at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and even eventually at the border posts from one control room,” Njiraini said.
The tax man said he is also exploring more intelligence sharing collaboration with the UK’s Revenue and Customs Administration, China customs and US customs and border control to stop importation of contrabands.
Last year, the authority intercepted 10 high-end vehicles between March and October at the port of Mombasa, which had been concealed in containers, declared as personal effects and household goods.
The vehicles which had a total estimated value of Sh58 million were on transit from the United Kingdom to Uganda.
This prompted a multi-agency investigation where Kenyan authorities increased corporation with Interpol, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and Regional Intelligence Liaisons Office to uncover more syndicates.
KRA also confiscated 40 containers of contraband goods at a Container Freight Station at Miritini, Mombasa last year, comprising of Sugar and Rice.
“We have collaborations at the international level. We work with a number of countries that we get intelligence from for example we have been able to intercept some of the high end vehicles,” Njiraini said.
“2017 is going to be a very exciting year for customs. We are reaching a tipping point in terms of how customs work, by using the best technology and practices that are available”.
The measures will be a shot in the arm for the tax man who has been struggling to meet his revenue collection targets to support the country’s budget.
KRA collected Sh591.17 billion for six months through December, 44.44 per cent of the full-year 2016/17 target of Sh1.33 trillion, Treasury CS Henry Rotich says in the Statement of Actual Revenues and Net Exchequer Issues.
Tax revenues made up about 72.28 per cent of the Sh817.89 billion total earnings by the government during the six-month period, the Treasury data shows.
Import duty between July and September was Sh19.9 billion against a target of Sh22.6 billion, treasury data shows.
Last week, Njiraini said KRA will phase out the 11-year old online clearing platform – Simba system – by April 1, in a new push to digitise its customs operations to help curb tax evasion.
The system will be replaced by the new Integrated Customs Management System.