- Labeling Requirements
- Required Documents and Licensing
- Import Procedures
- Taxes and Tariffs
- Contact Information
Labeling Requirements
The Government of Kenya (GOK) does not have specific requirements on beverage alcohol products other than those that apply to all processed products in general. (Visit FAS Annual Country report for more detailed information). As per the requirements of the Kenyan Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the labels of consumer-ready food products. should include the following information:
- brand/trade name and a common name
- list of ingredients in order of predominance
- date of manufacture as well as an expiration and/or sell-by date
- net content in metric units
- storage instructions
- name and address of the manufacturer
- country of origin
- grade designation (where applicable)
- Kenyan Import Standardization Mark (ISM)
In addition, every package containing an alcoholic drink shall have at least two of the health warning messages in English or Kiswahili. The GOK requires English labeling but does not prohibit any other language or combination of languages. It is common to see imported food products with English and Arabic or Chinese language labeling in Kenya. The health warning shall comprise not less than 30 percent of the total surface area of the package, and all imports with a limited shelf life shall have more than seventy five per cent (75%) shelf life from the date of expected landing in Kenya. For more information, please refer to the Kenyan Customs and Excise Act and the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act.
Kenya has labeling requirements for Genetically Modified (GMO) products. These requirements are found in the Biosafety (Labeling) Regulations, 2012: GMO" Labeling and the Kenya Standard KS 2225:2012 on labeling of food and feed products, as well as in the following link “GMO” import regulations.
Required Documents and Licensing
Kenya’s Alcoholic Drinks Control Act of 2010 lists licensing and registration procedure requirements for alcoholic beverage manufacturers and importers. All Kenyan imports are required to have the following documents:
- Import Declaration Forms (IDF)
- Certificate of Conformity (CoC ) from the PVoC (Pre-Shipment Verification of Conformity) agent for regulated products
- Import Standards Mark (ISM) when applicable
- valid pro forma invoices from the exporting firm.
- Certificate of origin
- Freight invoice for sea cargo
- Bill of Lading (sea cargo)/Airway Bill (air cargo)
The Kenya Bureau of Standards issues a Certificate of Conformity for goods that conform to Kenya Standards or non-conformity approved specifications and a non-conformity report in respect of goods which do not.
Import Procedures
To import any commodity into Kenya, an importer will have to enlist the services of a clearing agent who will process electronically the import documentation through Kenya Customs.
The goods clearance process requires Entry Declaration and Processing, which can be performed by the appointed clearing agent. For the purposes of stuffing, verification, and release, the agent should present the original entry and supporting documents to the customs discharge/loading station for processing (witness of stuffing/verification may be done at the station or any other approved stuffing area). Upon stuffing/verification, all compliant declarations are cleared and released. Upon exit through the border, or port, a certificate of export is issued.
Kenya has a pre-shipment inspection requirement (PVoC) for exports destined for Kenya. Exports to Kenya must also obtain an additional import standards mark (ISM), which is mandatory for all imported products sold in Kenya, to help consumers identify in the local market imported products that have been certified by the Kenyan Bureau of Standards (KEBS). Additional guidelines are found in Detailed Exporter and Importer KEBS guidelines and Kenya’s Revenue Authority website.
Taxes and Tariffs
Depending on the item to be imported, the import tax rates vary between 0 percent, 10 percent and 25 percent as provided by the East Africa Community Common External Tariff (CET). However, sensitive items have duty rates higher than 25 percent. The sensitive items are listed in the schedule 2 of the EAC Common External tariff. The excise duty rates are prescribed under the Excise Duty Act 2015.
Additionally, the 16 percent% rate of the Value Added Tax (VAT) may be assessed. However, items exempted from VAT as provided by the VAT Act of 2013 have a rate of 0 percent.
An import declaration fees of 3.5 percent and Railway Development Levy of 2 percent are levied on the value of imports as provided by the Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act of 2016. Please, visit the Kenya Revenue Authority’s website for more detailed information. Also, please see the Census Bureau’s Schedule B search function ( https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/schedules/b/index.html), which allows you to classify your product according to United States export codes. Simply click "Search" and enter the keyword (e.g., beer) that best describes your product.
Contact Information
Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS)
P.O. Box 54974, Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254-20-6948000 or 69028201/401/410
Email: info@kebs.org
Website: https://www.kebs.org/
Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS)
The Managing Director
P.O. Box 49592 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254-20-3536171/2 or 3597201/2/3
Mobile: 254-722516221, 254-733874274
Fax: 254-20-882265
Email: director@kephis.org
Website: www.kephis.org
Ministry of Health
Director, Public Health
P.O. Box 30016-00100 Nairobi, Kenya
Tel: 254-20-2717077
Fax: 254-20-2710055
Website: http://www.health.go.ke/
Kenya Ports Authority
The Managing Director
P.O. Box 95009-80104
Mombasa, Kenya
Tel: (254-41) 2112999/2113999
Cell: (254-20) 720202424
Email: micd@kpa.co.ke
Website: http://www.kpa.co.ke
Kenya Revenue Authority
Office of the Commissioner General
Times Tower Building, 30th Floor
P.O. Box 48240-00100 GPO Nairobi. Kenya
Tel: (254-20) 310900/2810000
Fax: (254-20) 341342
Email: cic@kra.go.ke
Website: http://www.kra.go.ke/
The information in this guide was obtained from external sources, including the websites of various governmental agencies and organizations, direct contact with those agencies and organizations, and from Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Global Agricultural Information Reports (GAIN) reports. Consequently, the accuracy of this information depends upon the accuracy of the sources.
TTB is not responsible for the content of external websites.