What does Kenya require before the cargo can be imported?
Kenya is served from China by ocean, air and express, and the arrival-side requirements below are the part that most often changes a landed cost or holds a shipment at the port. Each position is the one we publish for this market and is confirmed per shipment against the actual commodity code and destination city.
What duty, tax and levies apply on arrival?
| Duty and tax | EAC common external tariff of 0/10/25/35% by HS line with 50–100% on sensitive goods; VAT 16% on CIF plus duty |
| Import levies | Import declaration fee 2.5% and railway development levy 2% of customs value — 1.5%/1.5% for approved manufacturers’ inputs |
Who is allowed to import into this market?
| Importer of record | A KRA-registered importer declares through a licensed clearing agent on the SIMBA portal |
What certification or product rules must be in place before shipping?
| Pre-shipment inspection | A KEBS Certificate of Conformity from PVoC inspection is mandatory, issued in China by CCIC before departure |
| Pre-shipment certification | SONCAP for Nigeria and PVoC for Kenya and Tanzania must be arranged before loading |
How long does shipping from China to Kenya take?
Typical door-to-door transit on this lane, by mode. These are working ranges rather than carrier-published schedules, so the exact window is confirmed on booking.
| Mode | Typical transit | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean freight FCL | 15–25 days | Port to port to Mombasa on direct weekly services: ONE EA3 publishes Nansha 15 days, Ningbo 17, Shanghai 19; Maersk Mashariki has Shanghai 22, Ningbo 21, Nansha 17 |
| Ocean freight LCL | Confirmed per shipment | Consolidation to Mombasa quoted per booking |
| Air freight | 2–4 days | Airport to airport to Nairobi; China Southern flies Guangzhou–Nairobi direct at about eleven and a half hours block time |
| Express courier | Confirmed per shipment | Carrier sites publish no readable transit for Kenya; confirmed with the booking |
Which gateway does cargo arrive through in Africa?
The gateway is the same for every country in Africa; what changes between countries is the duty, importer and certification position above.
| Destination ports | Mombasa (Kilindini) is the gateway; Lamu takes transshipment under the 2026 KRA/KPA port reforms |
| Gateway ports | Durban, Cape Town, Mombasa, Lagos (Apapa and Tin Can), Tema, Port Louis |
| Gateway airports | JNB, NBO, LOS, CPT |
How do you turn this into a landed cost?
Duty is assessed per commodity code, so the positions above tell you what to prepare rather than what you will pay. Screen the official duty range for the HS chapter your product falls in with the HS chapter duty lookup, then put the rate for your actual code through the landed cost calculator to see duty, import tax and levies on the CIF value. Transit times, loading ports and the operating detail for this lane are on the China to Kenya route page.
Positions reviewed 2026-09-15 by Helen Peng. Duty, importer-of-record and certification answers are confirmed per shipment: a change of commodity code, origin documentation or destination city can change the position.
