Kenya Revenue Authority has begun the roll out of the Pre-arrival Cargo Clearance System (PVOC) aimed at speeding up the movement of Cargo from the Port of Mombasa to intended destinations. This will ensure timely delivery of Raw materials and other goods, including essential supplies to the Market.
Kenya Revenue Authority Commissioner General Mr John Njiraini described the move as a very important step in the Authority’s quest to continuously make Mombasa Port more attractive and reduce the cost of doing business for investors.
The move by Kenya Revenue Authority will allow the Residents of Kenya and the Region to eventually enjoy lower costs of living, as timely delivery of raw materials enables firms to lower their costs of production and pass the benefits to the Consumers.
The Commissioner General said Kenya Revenue Authority is fully committed to the implementation of the 2014 Port charter that requires 70% of cargo imported through the port of Mombasa to be cleared under the Pre-arrival Cargo Clearance System by 2017.
Speaking at the Port of Mombasa after holding a consultative meeting with executives from the shipping industry at the Kenya Ports Authority headquarters, Mr Njiraini who was also accompanied by the Commissioner of Customs Mr Julius Musyoka, and Kenya Revenue Authority Southern Region Coordinator Mr Nicholas Kinoti, explained that the Government decided to facilitate importers to have their Cargo cleared before arrival at the Port of Mombasa to save time and costs for investors.
“ We want to take the process a couple of steps back so that the lodging of documents and the payment of duties and other levies are paid before cargo arrives. By the time the Cargo arrives at the Port, the importer is in a position to take charge and remove the Cargo from the Port and avoid paying demurrage charges’’, Mr Njiraini added.
“ We have agreed to start the process of implementing the system. There are a couple of issues that we need to look at in terms of the Supply chain and we have agreed to meet in a Months’ time ,essentially we will have addressed issues to make it possible for them to clear their Cargo before it arrives,’’ The Commissioner General further added.
