Import reference / Kenya
What import duty and tax do you pay on a diesel generator into Kenya?
Import duty on a diesel generating set into Kenya is zero. Under the East African Community Common External Tariff, every subheading of HS 8502 carries a 0 percent rate, including 8502.12.00, which covers sets above 75 kVA and up to 375 kVA. You still pay the Import Declaration Fee at 2.5 percent, the Railway Development Levy at 2 percent and VAT at 16 percent, which together come to about 21.2 percent of the CIF value. None of that 21.2 percent is customs duty.
Rates last checked against the published schedule on .
What a customs entry attracts
Tariff heading 8502.12.00, generating sets with compression-ignition internal combustion piston engines, of an output exceeding 75 kva but not exceeding 375 kva. Port of entry Mombasa.
| Charge | Rate | Charged on |
|---|---|---|
| Import dutyAll of HS 8502 is zero rated under the EAC Common External Tariff. This is the figure most published guides get wrong. | 0 percent | CIF value |
| Import Declaration Fee (IDF)Reduced from 3.5 percent by the Finance Act 2023. Sources still quoting 3.5 percent are out of date. | 2.5 percent | CIF value |
| Railway Development Levy (RDL) | 2 percent | Customs value |
| VATCharged on the duty inclusive value, not on CIF alone. A VAT registered importer recovers this, so the irrecoverable cost of importing is closer to 4.5 percent. | 16 percent | CIF plus duty plus IDF plus RDL |
| Total as a share of CIF | about 21.2 percent | |
The working
- 01Take the CIF value as 100.
- 02Import duty at 0 percent adds 0.
- 03IDF at 2.5 percent of CIF adds 2.5.
- 04RDL at 2 percent of customs value adds 2.
- 05VAT is charged on CIF plus duty plus IDF plus RDL, so on 104.5. At 16 percent that adds 16.72.
- 06Total is 21.22, so about 21.2 percent of CIF.
- 07For a VAT registered importer the VAT is recoverable, which leaves about 4.5 percent as a real cost.
Conformity: PVoC, administered by the Kenya Bureau of Standards
A Certificate of Conformity has to be issued in the country of export, before shipment, by one of the inspection bodies KEBS appoints. Goods arriving without one face penalties or rejection at the port.
Before shipment, not on arrival. This is the step that catches first time importers, because a certificate cannot be obtained retrospectively once the unit has sailed.
Commonly stated, and wrong
Generators attract 25 percent import duty into Kenya, so total taxes are 45 to 50 percent of CIF.
The rate on HS 8502 is 0 percent in the Common External Tariff. The real total is about 21.2 percent of CIF, and none of it is duty. The 25 percent figure appears widely online and is the single most repeated error about importing generating sets into Kenya.
The Import Declaration Fee is 3.5 percent.
It was cut to 2.5 percent by the Finance Act 2023 and remains 2.5 percent.
A 100 kVA generating set is classified under HS 8502.13.
8502.13 covers sets above 375 kVA. A 100 kVA set is 8502.12. The duty rate happens to be 0 percent either way, but the wrong subheading on a declaration causes delays.
Questions
Are diesel generators duty free into Kenya?
Yes. Every subheading of HS 8502 carries a 0 percent rate under the East African Community Common External Tariff, so a diesel generating set attracts no customs duty in Kenya. Other charges still apply: IDF at 2.5 percent, RDL at 2 percent and VAT at 16 percent.
What is the total tax on importing a generator into Kenya?
About 21.2 percent of the CIF value. That is 0 percent duty, 2.5 percent IDF, 2 percent RDL and 16 percent VAT charged on the duty inclusive value. A VAT registered importer recovers the VAT, which leaves about 4.5 percent as an unrecoverable cost.
What HS code is a 100 kVA diesel generator?
8502.12.00, which covers generating sets with compression-ignition engines of an output exceeding 75 kVA but not exceeding 375 kVA. Sets at or below 75 kVA are 8502.11 and sets above 375 kVA are 8502.13.
Do you need a certificate to import a generator into Kenya?
Yes. A Certificate of Conformity must be issued under the KEBS PVoC programme in the country of export, before the unit ships. It cannot be obtained after the goods have sailed.
Sources
- East African Community Common External Tariff, 2022 version, Annex 1
- Legal Notice No. EAC/117/2022. Heading 85.02 and its subheadings, read directly from the published schedule.
- Kenya Finance Act 2023
- Reduction of the Import Declaration Fee from 3.5 to 2.5 percent.
- Kenya Bureau of Standards, PVoC programme
- Certificate of Conformity required in the country of export before shipment.
Rates change. This page states what the schedule said on . Confirm the current position with a licensed clearing agent before you commit to a shipment, and treat the classification as indicative until customs rules on your entry.