The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced that, starting January 2025, all travelers entering Kenya will be required to declare their mobile phones and other electronic devices at points of entry.

This new measure aims to enhance integrity and ensure tax compliance for mobile devices.

Importers of mobile devices must now submit detailed import entries in the customs system, specifying accurate quantities, precise model descriptions, and IMEI numbers.

Last month, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) mandated mobile networks to connect only with devices verified for tax compliance in a CA-provided database.

KRA’s Commissioner of Customs and Border Control emphasized that the public should prepare for this requirement beginning on January 1, 2025, with specific system guidelines for capturing devices and IMEI numbers to be issued soon.

Under the new rules, local device assemblers will need to register on the customs portal and submit reports detailing all devices assembled for the Kenyan market, along with their IMEI numbers.

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The CA further clarified that mobile devices without registered IMEI numbers for tax compliance will be placed on a greylist, providing distributors an opportunity to comply.

After this grace period, unregistered devices will be blacklisted.

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This requirement applies only to devices imported or assembled from November 1, 2024, onward, while devices already in use on mobile networks as of October 31, 2024, will remain unaffected.