KRA's customs unit nets Sh92.5b in July collections

KRA office.[Courtesy]

The Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) Customs and Border Control Department has opened the 2026-27 financial year with a record Sh92.53 billion in revenue collected in July 2026, surpassing the National Treasury’s target of Sh86.16 billion.

This represents a performance rate of 107.39 per cent against the target and is up from the Sh80.29 billion realised in July 2025, reflecting 15.3 per cent year-on-year growth

The July performance builds on an already elevated base. In June 2026, Customs posted Sh89.1 billion, which at the time was the department’s highest-ever monthly collection.

The back-to-back records in June and July, the taxman said, point to sustained momentum in revenue mobilisation.

A significant pillar of July’s outcome was the surge in non-oil revenue, which reached Sh61.50 billion. For the first time, non-oil customs collections in a single month exceeded the Sh60 billion mark in KRA's history.

The strong non-oil performance suggests that revenue growth is broad-based and not solely dependent on import duty from fuel, indicating resilient trade volumes and enhanced compliance across a wider basket of taxable imports.

Beyond the headline numbers, the July outcome also strengthens the broader fiscal position. Customs now contributes a large portion to the tax agency's overall income, which helps reduce the gap in funding the budget and lessens the need for borrowing within the country. Consistently exceeding monthly goals ensures the department supplies the National Treasury with steady cash inflows. This, in turn, aids in executing crucial government initiatives on time and lowers the chances of sudden mid-year spending reductions.

KRA attributed the performance to a series of ongoing reforms aimed at modernising customs operations and tightening enforcement while still facilitating legitimate trade.

KRA has been investing heavily in technology-driven customs administration, with a strong emphasis on data use, automation, and risk-based controls. These tools are being deployed to improve cargo risk profiling, speed up and standardise declaration processing, and clamp down on under-declaration, misclassification, and other forms of revenue leakage.

At the same time, Customs has been improving cargo management procedures at critical entry points, with a particular focus on the Port of Mombasa and major border crossings. Enhanced systems are intended to make procedures more predictable, transparent, and efficient for compliant traders, even as scrutiny intensifies for high-risk consignments.

This dual approach, facilitating legitimate trade while tightening enforcement, appears to be yielding higher, more sustainable revenue flows.

The Authority also cites enhanced stakeholder collaboration and strengthened compliance processes as key drivers of this achievement. Engagement with importers, clearing agents, and other border stakeholders aims to clarify regulations, reduce conflicts, and encourage voluntary adherence to rules. Internal efforts to align operations with ISO 9001:2015 standards are fostering a focus on quality, consistency, and accountability across customs procedures.

Customs and Border Control Commissioner Dr Lilian Nyawanda said the latest numbers validate the reforms the department has rolled out in recent years.

“The record collection in July is a significant milestone for KRA and a strong start to the new financial year,” she said. “It demonstrates that our investments in technology, compliance, trade facilitation, and stakeholder collaboration are delivering results. We remain focused on making it easier for compliant businesses to trade while ensuring that all revenue due to the Government is collected.”