On July 7, 2019, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) will launch its Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) for land and sea services, building on the success of its rollout for air cargo services on March 10. The system is expected to enhance efficiency in cargo clearance at the country's border points.
According to a notice inviting stakeholders to the meeting, KRA aims to avoid the confusion and delays experienced during the rollout of the ICMS air cargo services. The system will facilitate automatic upload of cargo import information to prevent falsification and enable exchange of information with iTax to counter non-compliant traders.
Shippers or their agents will be required to submit cargo clearance documentation such as import declaration forms, cargo manifests, security bonds, cargo declarations, and exemptions. The public participation meeting will be conducted in different venues across the country, especially at border towns.
On July 9, the team will be at Kenya School of Government in Mombasa and Moyale's KRA conference hall. On July 10, the discussions will take place in Lunga Lunga. KRA has invited shipping lines and agents, importers, exporters, clearing and forwarding agents, cargo consolidators, and the general public to engage.
ICMS is one of the programmes that KRA says will improve customs processes and procedures, allowing for less paperwork and faster clearance of cargo. It will also enable pre-arrival processing of goods.
