Before your cargo sails: KRA’s new ACD rule changes the game for every Kenyan importer

A new pre-shipment customs requirement is now in force, and importers who wait until cargo reaches Mombasa could learn the rules the expensive way.

 

For thousands of Kenyan entrepreneurs, manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers who depend on imported goods, the rules of importing through Kenya’s ports have changed. From Monday, 3rd August 2026, the Kenya Revenue Authority’s Advance Cargo Declaration system comes into operation for containerised cargo destined for Kenyan ports, introducing a critical compliance step that must be dealt with before cargo is loaded at the port of origin.

 

This is not the kind of requirement an importer can afford to discover when a vessel is already approaching Mombasa. It moves an important part of customs compliance away from the point of arrival and back to the beginning of the shipping journey. In simple terms, KRA wants advance information about the cargo coming into the country before that cargo starts its voyage to Kenya. The era of waiting for goods to arrive and then assuming that a clearing agent will sort out every customs issue at the port is steadily coming to an end.

 

The new system is known as the Advance Cargo Declaration, or ACD. Before a qualifying shipment leaves the exporting country, the relevant shipment information must be submitted through KRA’s ACD platform and an ACD Reference Code obtained. That reference must then be correctly shown on the final Bill of Lading before the shipment proceeds to Kenya. For an importer, that small reference code now becomes a major part of the documentation chain connecting the exporter, the shipping line, Customs and the clearing process at the destination.

 

The practical message is simple: if you are importing a container from China, India, Turkey, Dubai, Europe or any other market, your compliance responsibility now begins long before the ship reaches Mombasa. You must speak to the people handling the shipment at origin and confirm that the ACD requirement has been dealt with correctly before loading. It should become as normal as checking the commercial invoice, the Bill of Lading, the packing details or the shipping schedule.

 

KRA’s published requirements identify four core documents that must be prepared for the ACD process: the draft Bill of Lading, the commercial invoice, the freight invoice and the export declaration. These documents are not random pieces of paperwork. Together, they provide Customs with a picture of what is being shipped, who is shipping it, the declared commercial value, the freight information and the export details before the cargo enters the Kenyan customs environment. Once the declaration is processed and approved, the ACD Reference Code is generated and must be endorsed on the Bill of Lading.

 

That change has enormous implications for Kenyan importers, particularly small and medium-sized businesses. Many SMEs have traditionally depended almost entirely on clearing agents after the shipment has already been dispatched. A trader buys goods from a supplier abroad, pays for the products, receives shipping information and then starts thinking seriously about customs clearance as the vessel gets closer to Kenya. Under an advance cargo declaration regime, that approach becomes risky. A problem that should have been solved before loading can become far more expensive once the container is already in transit or sitting at the port.

 

The question every importer should now make part of their pre-shipment routine is straightforward: has the ACD Reference Code been obtained, and is it correctly indicated on the Bill of Lading? That question should be asked before the container is loaded, not