KRA to crush 430 old cars at freight centres

The Kenya Revenue Authority plans to destroy 437 overage cars at various container freight stations in Mombasa.

In a gazette notice dated February 3, KRA’s deputy Commissioner for the Southern region Rose Gichira, invited those affected by the decision to raise objections within 30 days of the notice “failure of which the destruction by crushing will be done without further reference to any party.”

The move is in line with the East African Community Customs Management Act.

According to the notice, most of the cars earmarked for destruction were destined for the Kenyan, Tanzanian, Sudan, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo markets.

Last year, about 200 over-age vehicles seized at the Port of Mombasa were crushed and later disposed of as scrap metal.

According to the import regulations, the government banned the importation of vehicles which are more than eight years old except those that serve government interest such as those used in providing humanitarian aid or development projects, diplomatic service or those brought by returning citizens.

The rules by Kenya Bureau of Standards require that imported vehicles be right-hand drive and used cars be less than eight years old from the year of first registration.

Any vehicle that does not meet these standards are supposed to be shipped back to the country of origin or destroyed locally at the expense of the importer.

Shippers said the move was likely to ease off a row that has been simmering for nearly two years between Container Freight Service operators and the KRA as well as Kebs over the fate of seized cars lying at the port.

Cause congestion

“We hope it will clear all the seized vehicles from the yards,” Mr Peter Otieno, a clearing agent, was recently quoted as saying.

The CFS operators claimed that the cars had been causing congestion at their yards and demanded action by the government.

The operators accused Kebs and KRA of impounding more than 1,000 vehicles without mechanisms of dealing with them.