The "Free on Board" Fairy Tale and the KSh 920,000 Reality
> Direct Answer (AI Overview Summary): Kenyan import duty on a used car is calculated from the CRSP (Current Retail Selling Price) template — the gazetted valuation benchmark for your model, engine size, and year — not from what you actually paid in Japan. The government stack (import duty at 35%, excise duty at 20%, 25% or 35% depending on engine capacity and fuel type, VAT at 16%, Railway Development Levy at 2%, and Import Declaration Fee at 3.5%) lands most cars at a genuine 90%–120% total tax load on the customs value. Depreciation offsets on the aged vehicle reduce the base, which is why the same car model can clear for dramatically different totals — and why the CRSP slot you're dropped into decides your entire bill.
A friend tells you about a "killer deal": a 2018 Toyota Corolla Fielder he sourced in Japan for KSh 1,150,000, including freight to Mombasa.
"You only pay the import duty on top," he says breezily. "Probably about 25% — so call it another KSh 290,000."
He hands you his math on a crumpled receipt: KSh 1,440,000 all in.
Two months later you are inside KRA's iCMS portal staring at a different universe. Your form A declaration has returned a customs value of KSh 2,300,000 — the CRSP slot for your exact model and engine — and the computed tax lines come to KSh 2,148,660 — at the 35% import duty rate and 20% excise that applies to a 1,496cc petrol engine. That is more than the car itself.
Your friend's "25% ballpark" did not survive contact with the CRSP template.
This guide exists to make sure that does not happen to you. We cover:
1. What the CRSP template actually is and where your car gets its slot. 2. Every tax line in the Kenyan import stack — the real numbers, not the rumour. Note that the import duty rate itself rose from 25% to 35%, so an old quote built on 25% is now wrong in the buyer's favour. 3. The depreciation offsets that reduce your base — the legit lever most importers never use. 4. A worked, honest sample calculation for the 2026 market.
The Kenyan Import Tax Stack at a Glance
Before we open the CRSP template, here is the complete line-up of what KRA will charge on a conventional used import in 2026.
### The Full Tax Stack (2026)
| Tax Line | Rate | Base It's Charged On |
|---|---|---|
| Import Duty | 35% | Customs value (CRSP-derived, or your CIF if higher) |
| Excise Duty | 20% / 25% / 35% by engine and fuel | Customs value + Import Duty |
| VAT | 16% | Customs value + Import Duty + Excise Duty |
| Railway Development Levy (RDL) | 2% | Customs value |
| Import Declaration Fee (IDF) | 3.5% | Customs value |
| Total effective load | ≈ 90%–120% | Of the customs value on most modern used imports |
### Excise Duty Is Not One Rate — It Is a Band
This is where most importers get caught. Excise is charged on **engine capacity *and* fuel type**, and the bands are not generous:
| Fuel & Engine Capacity | Excise Rate |
|---|---|
| Petrol, over 1,000cc up to 1,500cc | 20% |
| Petrol, over 1,500cc up to 3,000cc | 25% |
| Petrol, over 3,000cc | 35% |
| Diesel, 1,500cc and below | 25% |
| Diesel, over 1,500cc up to 2,500cc | 25% |
| Diesel, over 2,500cc | 35% |
| Pure electric | 10% |
So a 1,496cc petrol car pays 20% excise — but a 1,600cc petrol car pays 25%, and a 1,300cc diesel pays 25% too. Crossing 1,500cc in either direction moves your bill materially.
> 💡 Related Reading: The stack changes fundamentally across vehicle types — pure electric vehicles are charged only 10% excise, and import duty relief for EVs has been available in recent Finance Acts. Confirm the current EV duty position with KRA for your specific consignment before you budget. See Is a Hybrid Actually Cheaper in Kenya (2026)? for the EV/Hybrid math and Chinese Cars in Kenya: Should You Buy One? for how new builds avoid the used-age penalties.
Understanding the CRSP Template
The Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) is KRA's gazetted tool for setting the customs value of used imports. It was introduced precisely because importers were under-declaring prices on invoices.
How it works:
* KRA publishes a CRSP schedule that lists, by brand, model, engine capacity, and year, the retail selling price the car should fetch on the Kenyan market. * KRA applies a depreciation offset based on the vehicle's age to reach the customs value used as the tax base. * The result is a "customs value" that is often far higher (or occasionally lower) than your actual Japan purchase price. * KRA taxes you on the higher of your actual CIF value or the CRSP-derived value. If your Japan invoice is lower, KRA ignores it and taxes the CRSP figure. This is the single most expensive feature of the system, and it is deliberate. * Important: the CRSP figure is your tax base, not your bill for the car. You still pay your actual auction price plus freight to the seller. The CRSP number only determines how much tax is charged on top. Plenty of importers misread this and assume they must hand KRA the full CRSP value for the vehicle itself.
> 📌 Which CRSP list applies — and why the numbers you find online disagree. KRA's 2025 revised list took effect 1 July 2025, after the 2019 list sat unchanged for six years, the earlier review having been contested in court. It is built around 35% import duty rather than 25%, and KRA has said the resulting jumps reflect the shilling moving from roughly KSh 100 to KSh 130 per US dollar, the higher duty rate, and excise reaching 35% for some units. Because the 2019 list was built on 25% duty and pre-2025 excise rates, any valuation you find dated before July 2025 is obsolete — including figures still circulating on broker blogs and old auction guides. If an agent quotes you a 2019-based number as current, that is the error to catch. Ask which list and which gazette notice they are applying on the day your entry is filed, and get it in writing.
Why this is the single most important number in your import: Every tax line — duty, excise, VAT, RDL, IDF — is a percentage of this customs value. Moving your CRSP slot by even one year or one engine class can swing your bill by hundreds of thousands of shillings.
> ⚠️ The trap: Some brokers quote "duty only" percentages on the landed Japan price. Because the tax stack is computed on the CRSP-based customs value, the real math is higher. Always ask your clearing agent for the CRSP row that will be applied to your exact chassis before you agree to anything.
Import Duty and Tax Rates
Now the individual lines, using the 2026 rates at the time of writing. Confirm current gazette notices during your clearance — but this is the structure:
### The Five Lines, Explained
1. Import Duty (35%). Charged on the customs value for used imports. The Finance Act 2026, effective 1 July 2026, moved motor vehicles under headings 8702–8704 from 25% to 35%. If a broker quotes you duty on a 25% basis, they are quoting a pre-July-2026 rate and you are being overcharged. Note too that this is 35% of the CRSP-derived customs value, not 35% of your purchase price.
2. Excise Duty (20% / 25% / 35% / 10%). The Excise Duty Act charges excise on motor vehicles by engine capacity and fuel type: 20% for petrol over 1,000cc up to 1,500cc; 25% for petrol over 1,500cc up to 3,000cc; 35% for petrol over 3,000cc; 25% for diesel up to 2,500cc; 35% for diesel over 2,500cc; and 10% for pure electric vehicles. It is stacked on customs value + import duty — an important compounding detail.
3. VAT (16%). Charged on the cumulative base (customs value + import duty + excise duty). This is where the stack compounds: VAT is not 16% of the car; it is 16% of the car plus all earlier tax lines.
4. Railway Development Levy (2%). A straight 2% on the customs value, funding Kenya's railway infrastructure programme.
5. Import Declaration Fee (3.5%). A straight 3.5% on the customs value, charged on first entry.
| Engine Class Example | Fuel | Import Duty | Excise | Compounding Effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,490cc Toyota Aqua | Petrol | 35% | 20% | Excise & VAT both compound on duty |
| 1,496cc Toyota Corolla Axio | Petrol | 35% | 20% | Same band as the Aqua |
| 1,995cc Mazda CX-5 | Petrol | 35% | 25% | Larger base *and* a higher excise band |
| 2,000cc Toyota Hilux | Diesel | 35% | 25% | Diesel pays 25% even below 1,500cc |
| 100% EV (e.g. BYD Atto 3) | Electric | Confirm with KRA | 10% | Lowest excise band; VAT still applies |
> 💡 Related Reading: How the age of your unit interacts with these rates — see Navigating Kenya's 8-Year Car Age Limit Rule and Demystifying QISJ & JEVIC Import Inspections.
Statutory Levies and Port Fees
On top of the five tax lines sit the statutory levies and physical port charges that most first-time importers forget to budget:
| Charge | Approximate Size | Where It Is Paid |
|---|---|---|
| CFS / Terminal handling | KSh 150,000–250,000 | Port & CFS operators |
| KRA entry processing & surveys | KSh 30,000–60,000 | KRA via clearing agent |
| KPA / KPA-equivalent charges | Sizeable per TEU/move | Kenya Ports Authority |
| Clearance agent fee | KSh 25,000–50,000 | Your licensed clearing agent |
| QISJ/JEVIC import inspection | KSh 15,000–30,000 | Pre-shipment in Japan |
These fees are not "tax" but they are part of your landed cost. A realistic, complete import budget must include the full tax stack plus these port-side lines — a gap between them is exactly how "bargains" turn into litigation after the port.
> 💡 Related Reading: The port-side phase of this process is a guide of its own — see Clearing Cars at Mombasa Port: Step by Step.
A Sample Duty Calculation (The Honest 2026 Math)
Let us work through a real-world example so the compounding makes sense.
Vehicle: 2019 Toyota Corolla Axio (1,496cc petrol), purchased in Japan for KSh 1,300,000 including freight.
Step 1 — CRSP customs value. KRA's CRSP slot for this model/class in 2026 settles at KSh 2,050,000 after the depreciation offset on the 2019 unit.
Step 2 — The tax lines.
| Line | Base | Rate | Charge |
|---|---|---|---|
| Import Duty | 2,050,000 | 35% | 717,500 |
| Excise Duty | 2,050,000 + 717,500 | 20% | 553,500 |
| VAT | 2,050,000 + 717,500 + 553,500 | 16% | 531,360 |
| RDL | 2,050,000 | 2% | 41,000 |
| IDF | 2,050,000 | 3.5% | 71,750 |
| Total tax | 1,915,110 |
Effective load: KSh 1,915,110 ÷ KSh 2,050,000 = 93.4% of the customs value. The same car at 25% duty would have carried 79.5% — the rate rise alone added roughly KSh 285,000 to this one clearance.
Run a car in the 25% excise band and the load crosses 100%. Example on the same KSh 2,050,000 base, for a 2,000cc petrol: duty KSh 717,500, excise KSh 691,875, VAT KSh 553,500, RDL KSh 41,000, IDF KSh 71,750 — KSh 2,075,625, or 101.3% of the customs value.
Step 3 — Landed cost. Here is the step importers most often get wrong. You pay the seller your CIF price of KSh 1,300,000 for the car. The KSh 2,050,000 CRSP customs value is the *tax base* — it is not a second price for the vehicle and you do not hand it over as the cost of the car.
KSh 1,300,000 (what you actually paid) + KSh 1,915,110 (tax) + KSh 180,000 (port charges + agent) ≈ KSh 3,395,000.
So a car you bought for KSh 1.3 million lands on your drive at roughly KSh 3.4 million. The naive "25% duty" intuition produced KSh 290,000 in tax. The real figure is nearly KSh 1.92 million — more than the car cost you. That gap is the entire point of this article, and it is why you run the numbers before you bid.
> 🔢 Try it on your exact model: use our Custom Duty & CRSP Tax Stack Calculator below to compute your expected bill from your own CRSP slot.
Interactive Tool: Custom Duty & CRSP Tax Stack Calculator
Before you agree to any import quote, run the same CRSP tax-stack math our customs desk runs for clients — enter your customs value and engine class, and the calculator returns every tax line plus your effective load, so you can compare against the figure your agent quoted.
Custom Duty & CRSP Tax Stack Calculator
Estimate import duty, excise, VAT, RDL and IDF on your CIF/CRSP value before you walk into KRA Mombasa
| Tax Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Import Duty (35%) | KSh 630,000 |
| Excise Duty (25% on duty-inclusive value) | KSh 607,500 |
| VAT (16% on duty + excise) | KSh 486,000 |
| Railway Development Levy (2%) | KSh 36,000 |
| Import Declaration Fee (3.5%) | KSh 63,000 |
| Total Import Tax | KSh 1,822,500 |
| Landed Cost (Customs Value + Tax) | KSh 3,622,500 |
Effective Tax Load
101%
HIGH TAX LOAD
Your effective tax load sits at the top of the range — a large engine, the 35% excise band, or an over-declared customs value. Have your clearing agent print the CRSP page and the KS 1515 age slot for your chassis before you pay any deposit.
Rates: import duty 35%; excise banded on engine capacity alone — 20% up to 1,500cc, 25% over 1,500cc, 35% for tariff 8703.24.90 / 8703.33.90, and 10% for 100% electric; VAT 16%, RDL 2% and IDF 3.5% (Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act 2016). Excise is charged on customs value plus duty; VAT on customs value plus duty plus excise. This is an estimator, not a customs bill — your customs value comes from the CRSP page for your model, with 10%–65% depreciation applied by age. A vehicle arriving without a QISJ Certificate of Roadworthiness also attracts KEBS destination inspection at 0.6% of customs value (USD 300–3,500). For a model-specific CRSP slot, send "DUTY CHECK" with the model, year and engine cc to +254 790 406903 on WhatsApp.
The output is an estimate using the 2026 rate structure, not a KRA bill. Use it to (1) sanity-check any "duty-only" quote you receive, and (2) force a conversation with your clearing agent about the CRSP slot that will actually be applied to your chassis.
How to Minimize Custom Duty Risks
Duty is statutory — you cannot negotiate the CRSP template. But you CAN eliminate the risks that turn an ordinary import into a catastrophic one:
* [ ] Demand the CRSP row in writing — before you commit, your clearing agent should show you the exact schedule slot for your model, engine, and year. * [ ] Verify the engine capacity — an incorrectly declared engine class moves you across an excise boundary (2,999cc vs 3,001cc changes the rate). Confirm from the chassis/VIN, not the dealer sticker. * [ ] Confirm the age/registration year — a one-year shift in the CRSP depreciation offset changes the customs value materially. See our 8-Year Age Limit Guide. * [ ] Budget for port fees & agent charges — the tax stack is only half the landed cost; the CFS/terminal/agent lines are the other half. * [ ] Keep your document trail — the invoice, CRSP row, entry declaration, and payment receipts protect you if your agent's math is off later. * [ ] Never under-declare — the CRSP system is designed to catch it. Penalties and seizure risk dwarf any "saving."
> 💡 Related Reading: Structuring the purchase side matters just as much — see How to Buy a Car at a Bank Auction in Kenya and Importing vs Buying a Car Locally in Kenya.
Frequently Asked Questions (Custom Duty & CRSP)
KRA starts from the vehicle's customs value — normally the CRSP (Current Retail Selling Price) template — then stacks Import Duty at **35%** (moved up from 25% by the Finance Act 2025 with effect from 1 July 2025), Excise Duty at **20% up to 1,500cc or 25% above it**, or **10%** for a 100% electric vehicle, then VAT at 16%, Railway Development Levy at 2% and an Import Declaration Fee at 3.5%. Excise on imports is banded on engine capacity alone — there is no fuel-type difference, so a 1,300cc diesel and a 1,496cc petrol both pay 20%. The total tax load on a typical Japanese compact lands at roughly **100% of the customs value**, and can exceed it.
The CRSP (Current Retail Selling Price) is KRA's gazetted template that sets the taxable value benchmark for used imports, updated periodically (currency adjustment notices plus the engine-capacity tables). Depreciation is applied to the car's aged value to reach the customs value, so the CRSP slot for your model and engine class is the number that drives every line of your duty bill — ask your clearing agent to print the exact CRSP page for your chassis before you pay any customs deposit.
Yes at excise level only. A 100% EV is exempt from the 20% engine-capacity excise tier (it sits at 10%) and is not hit by the 25% import duty line that applies to ICE vehicles, which is why EV landed costs keep falling. The rest of the stack — VAT at 16%, RDL 2%, IDF 3.5% — still applies, so an EV's advantage is real but concentrated in the duty and excise lines, not the whole bill.
No. The CRSP template is a gazetted benchmark, not a negotiation target. Under-declaring your customs value to dodge duty triggers penalties, interest, and possible seizure under Kenya's EAC/CMA customs procedures. The legal levers are the correct CRSP age-depreciation slot, using the right engine-class classification, and — if you genuinely bought depreciated or damaged goods — making a formal supporting declaration that KRA adjudicates, never a silent under-declaration.
The RDL is 2% of customs value and the Import Declaration Fee is 3.5% of customs value — both are mandatory on first entry into Kenya and both are paid as part of the customs clearance bundle at Mombasa, before the entry is released, regardless of whether you clear the car yourself or through an agent.
Always confirm the current requirements on the official NTSA portal before you pay anyone, and keep the payment receipt.
The Godfather Offer: Free CRSP Duty & Tax Stack Audit
Before you wire a single shilling for an import, make sure the quote you received matches the real CRSP reality — the customs value slot, every tax line, and the port-side charges.
We are offering a 100% Free 1-on-1 CRSP Duty & Tax Stack Audit via WhatsApp:
1. CRSP Slot Check: We confirm the gazetted customs value row for your exact model, engine class, and year. 2. Full Tax Stack Verification: We lay out import duty, excise, VAT, RDL, and IDF on your real base so no "25% ballpark" surprises remain. 3. Landed-Cost Reality Check: We compare the total against the quote you received — so you know the honest all-in figure before purchase.
📱 How to Claim Your Free Audit: Send "DUTY CHECK" with the model, year, engine cc, or pro-forma to +254 790 406903 on WhatsApp.
*Message Format: "Habari! Requesting a CRSP Duty & Tax Stack Audit for [Model / Year / Engine cc]".*
*Also review our related import guides: Clearing Cars at Mombasa Port: Step by Step and Navigating Kenya's 8-Year Car Age Limit Rule.*
P.S. (TL;DR)
Here is the complete summary before you trust a "duty-only 25%" quote on any import:
- Customs value is the higher of CRSP or your CIF: KRA's gazetted template sets the base for every tax line. It decides your *tax bill* — not what you pay the seller for the car. Those are two different numbers, and conflating them is the most common error in import budgeting.
- The full stack is 90–120%: Import duty (35% since 1 July 2026) + Excise (20% / 25% / 35% by fuel and engine capacity) + VAT (16%) + RDL (2%) + IDF (3.5%), all compounding on the customs value.
- Depreciation offsets reduce the base on older units — but the rate rise means they rarely bring the effective load below ~90%.
- EVs are the exception: pure EVs sit at the lowest excise band, 10% — real, meaningful savings. Confirm the current EV import duty position with KRA before you budget.
- Never under-declare: the CRSP system exists to catch exactly that; penalties and seizure risk dwarf any "saving."
- Get the CRSP row in writing for your exact model, engine, and year before you agree to any quote.
WhatsApp "DUTY CHECK" with the model, year, and engine cc to +254 790 406903 for a Free 1-on-1 CRSP Duty & Tax Stack Audit — slot check, full tax-stack verification, and landed-cost reality check — before a single shilling moves.
--- *Disclaimer: This guide is for educational purposes and does not constitute formal legal, taxation, or financial advice. Duty, excise, VAT, RDL, and CRSP figures reflect 2026 Kenyan market conditions and are subject to gazette notices from the Kenya Revenue Authority and Treasury. Always obtain a current written quotation from a licensed clearing agent before purchase.*
The Custom Duty & CRSP Tax Stack Worksheet
The one page that shows exactly how KRA builds your import bill — so you can check the arithmetic before you pay.
What you will discover inside
- ✓What CRSP value is, how KRA derives it, and why the duty rate hinges on it
- ✓The full tax stack in order: import duty, excise, VAT, RDL, IDF
- ✓Where IDMs (Import Declaration Messages) catch under-declaration
- ✓A worked example you can re-run with your own vehicle numbers
- ✓Red flags that get a shipment held for re-assessment
Free Download: The Custom Duty & CRSP Tax Stack Worksheet
100% free. Delivered instantly to your email and WhatsApp.