The Kenya Revenue Authority announced it will introduce a new tax valuation system for imported second‑hand vehicles, potentially changing the amount importers pay in duties and taxes.

KRA Commissioner General Adan Mohamed said the authority is consulting motor‑vehicle industry players on a second version of the Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) schedule.

CRSP is the reference pricing framework KRA uses to determine the customs value of used cars, factoring in make, model, specifications and year of manufacture.

Under the current system, taxes are not based solely on the purchase price; KRA applies the CRSP reference value and then depreciates it according to the vehicle’s age before calculating import duty, excise duty and VAT.

Consequently, two importers paying the same purchase price may owe different tax amounts depending on the specific model and age of their vehicles.

The upcoming CRSP Version II could revise the valuation assigned to various models, altering the tax liability for importers, although KRA has not yet released the new schedule or set an implementation date.

The announcement follows recent KRA changes that let licensed dealers move cleared used cars from customs yards to their premises before registration, provided they pay all customs duties, taxes and levies up front.

Under the revised dealer process, registration fees and levies payable to the National Transport and Safety Authority are deferred until a buyer is found, and dealers must obtain a Kenya Dealer identifier linked to each vehicle’s chassis number before release.

KRA said the dealer‑release changes stem from a directive by President William Ruto, conveyed through NTSA, to allow dealers to hold cleared vehicles while seeking purchasers.