This archive report was first published on 14 August 2019.
On August 3rd, 2019, the Port of Mombasa marked a significant milestone in trade facilitation with the launch of the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) Sea cargo regime. The system went live with the clearing of the first consignment of 43,400.835 metric tonnes of clinker.
The MV Ptolomeos, carrying the consignment, docked at the Port of Mombasa at 6:25 a.m. on Saturday, August 3rd, 2019. The cargo was cleared automatically in the iCMS after the importer's clearing agent, Express Shipping and Logistics (ESL), lodged entries in the system and paid duty of Ksh65 million before the arrival of the cargo.
The next bulk consignments to be cleared through iCMS are 42,000 metric tonnes of clinker and 25,540 metric tonnes of coal. The former arrived at the Port of Mombasa on August 7th onboard MV Boreas Venture, while the latter is expected to arrive on August 21st by MV African Hoeg respectively.
The clearance of cargo through the Integrated Customs Management System is a major milestone for efforts by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to expedite customs clearance of cargo and enhance trade facilitation. iCMS will reduce the cargo dwell time for compliant imports at the Port of Mombasa since the system does not require human intervention at the document processing centre, unlike the Simba system.
iCMS has been implemented in phases. The clearance module for air cargo went live on May 10th, 2019, while the rollout for land and sea cargo began on July 7th, 2019.
According to KRA, the system will enhance trade facilitation and reduce cargo dwell time at the Port of Mombasa. The authority expects to collect revenue of more than Ksh. 40 million from the coal consignment.
