The price of cars in Kenya is set to rise following the increase of car import duty to 35 per cent.
This increase follows the approval of an import duty revision from 25 per cent to 35 per cent that Kenya had proposed to the East African Community.
The new hike will mean that vehicles imported into Kenya will cost more than vehicles imported into Uganda and Rwanda.
This hike will see the price of imported cars rise by over 10 per cent in Kenya. The vehicles that are set to be affected by this hike include those carrying 10 or more passengers, station wagons, racing cars and those involved in the transportation of goods among others.
A car with a custom value of Sh. 998,621—comprising the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) charges— will rise by Sh. 129,821 to Sh. 996,124 in the new order.
“The increase in customs duty on imported cars will translate to about a 14 percent increase in the cost of importing vehicles. A convergence of this duty hike and petrol price increase could see consumers move to green mobility,” Robert Waruiru, the managing partner of Ichiban Tax and Business Advisory told a local daily.
Kenyan car buyers turn to Nissans, Mazdas as Toyotas get too expensive
Currently, above the import duty, vehicles attract excise duty ranging from 25 per cent to 35 per cent depending on the size of the engine and value added tax of 16 per cent, payable cumulatively and in that order.
There is also the import declaration fees and railway development levy, which are charged rates of 2.5 per cent and 1.5 per cent of the customs value.
