Trucks arriving at One Stop Border Posts (OSBPs) without customs clearance documents will be fined as provided for in the East African Community Customs Management Act (EACCMA). This, according to a public notice by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) takes effect on 4th February 2022 at mid-day.
The notice also announced that the confirmation of the customs documents will be done at the bridge by custom officers supported by security officers.
Effective mid-day, trucks failing to exit the OSBP 30 minutes after having been released will be fined in accordance with EACCMA. Failure to have clearance documents is congesting Malaba OSBP, according to KRA, which prompted the taxman to crack the whip.
“We have noted with a lot of concern that many trucks are arriving at Malaba OSBP without customs clearance documents. This has led to congestion within the OSBP and subsequent traffic snarl-up on the Ugandan side,” said the notice signed by Kimani Kang’ethe, Chairman, Malaba Border Management Committee.
Last month Kenya and Ugandan authorities resolved to suspend truck scanning in Malaba-Kenya as a measure to clear a 40-kilometre traffic snarl-up stretching from Malaba to Bungoma towns.
The two agreed that the usual scanning of trucks on the Kenyan side of the border be suspended immediately to fast track movement of trucks to Uganda where scanning will now be solely done.
In December 2021, Uganda introduced mandatory Covid-19 testing for drivers to curb the spread of the Omicron variant. It was also charging Sh3, 600 per test.
The move forced drivers transporting cargo between Mombasa and Kampala to go on strike on 3rd January. The strike lasted for 11 days and by the time the boycott was called off the traffic snarl-up had stretched to over 72kilometers from Malaba town.
The Federation of East African Freight Forwarders Associations (FEAFFA) and other private sector organizations played a key role in urging the EAC partner states to quickly resolve the issues as they were hurting the transport and logistics sector. FEAFFA also encouraged the EAC partner states to continue embracing the RECDTS which recognizes truck drivers covid19 test results for 14 days across the EAC.
