Importing from China to Kenya: Customs, PVoC and Costs 2026

China ranks among Kenya's top suppliers, with around 4.31 billion dollars of Kenyan imports in 2024 according to the United Nations Comtrade database, a flow that passes almost entirely through the port of Mombasa.

On imports from outside the bloc, Kenya applies the East African Community's common external tariff, the EAC, with rates ranging from 0 to 100%, an average of 25%, and higher rates listed in the tariff's so-called "Schedule 2" annex for goods considered sensitive. Our sources found no bilateral free trade agreement between Kenya and China.

Since 1 May 2026, China has in return granted duty-free access to 53 African countries with which it has diplomatic relations, including Kenya, which benefits Kenyan exports of coffee and avocado, without changing the duties Kenya levies on entry into its own territory.

Four levies add up on a Kenyan import, calculated from the CIF value, cost, insurance and freight included.

Example for a CIF value of 1,000,000 shillings, at the median rate of 25%: customs duty 250,000 shillings, IDF 25,000, RDL 20,000, VAT taxable base 1,295,000, VAT 207,200. Total levies then exceed half the CIF value. The actual rate varies greatly from one tariff line to another: reconfirm with a freight forwarder before ordering.

The importer files an Import Declaration Form, the IDF, before shipment, then an electronic customs declaration on arrival. Regulated products must additionally present a Certificate of Conformity issued under the PVoC.

Some products, beyond customs alone, require a separate import licence: health products, environment-related products, security products, animals, plants and seeds, the latter also subject to quarantine.

The Pre-Export Verification of Conformity, PVoC, a Kenya Bureau of Standards programme, has covered nearly all imports since 1 December 2015. Exempt are raw materials, machinery and spare parts imported by a registered manufacturer for its own use, products already certified Diamond Mark by KEBS, and goods exempted by the government on the decision of the Cabinet Secretary responsible for Industry.

Six accredited inspection companies cover 19 zones worldwide, three of them based in China: China Certification & Inspection Group, China Hansom Inspection & Certificate, and World Standardization Certification & Testing Group, Shenzhen. They issue the Certificate of Conformity, CoC, the Certificate of Inspection, or, for vehicles, the Certificate of Roadworthiness. According to KEBS, a registered manufacturer's PVoC exemption certificate is issued within 5 working days, and the document check for a shipment fully covered by an exemption is processed in 1 to 4 hours at the port.

Point checked as of 27 September 2026: the PVoC contracts for general goods expired on 8 February 2026, according to a KEBS notice reported by the Kenyan press. Since 9 February 2026, goods shipped without a valid Certificate of Conformity are subject to a destination inspection billed at 0.6% of the approved customs value. KEBS has since started a new 2026-2029 PVoC contract cycle; we found no confirmation on its official website that the normal regime has resumed for China: reconfirm with your inspection body before loading.

Kenya prohibits, among other things, hazardous chemicals, mercury-based cosmetics, narcotics and counterfeit currency, white phosphorus matches, obscene printed matter, used commercial vehicle tyres, single-use plastic bags, ferrous scrap waste, timber from other EAC states, fresh unprocessed tilapia and Nile perch, and charcoal. A second list requires authorisation for bows, arrows and fencing equipment, firearms, ammunition and explosives, genetically modified organisms, historical artefacts, and ivory.

For a used vehicle, three rules apply together: a maximum age of 8 years from manufacture or first registration under standard KS 1515:2000, mandatory right-hand drive, and customs clearance within 21 days of arrival at the port. Documents to gather: commercial invoice, cancelled registration book, bill of lading, pre-shipment inspection certificate from a KEBS-approved agent, and KRA PIN certificate. Always check the accepted registration year with KEBS or the NTSA before shipping anything.

Mombasa remains Kenya's only major seaport and the reference entry point for most freight coming from Asia, before onward transport to Nairobi and the interior. From southern China, freight most often leaves from Guangzhou, Shenzhen or Yantian; we found no single, verifiable transit time, so ask your freight forwarder at the time of booking.

Air freight is reserved for urgent or lightweight shipments. FOB from southern China suits buyers who arrange transport themselves; CIF or CFR suits cases where an intermediary handles it through to Mombasa. DDP remains inadvisable as long as the seller is not itself a registered customs declarant in Kenya.

On payment, common practice remains a deposit followed by a balance before shipment, paid exclusively into the Chinese company's business account, never a personal account: a change of bank details received by email should be verified by a direct call before any transfer.

A first order follows a precise sequence: specifications, factory verification, approved sample, proforma invoice with incoterm, PVoC file started alongside production, production follow-up, pre-shipment inspection, freight to Mombasa, then customs clearance by the client or their local freight forwarder on arrival.

Sorva is a sourcing and trading house based in Guangzhou, in the Tianhe district, backed by a Chinese subsidiary whose corporate purpose covers the purchase, resale and export of goods, and by a parent company in France. Our Chinese-speaking team finds and verifies factories, arranges visits and samples, negotiates, has quality checked before loading, and organises freight through to the port of Mombasa, while gathering the documents needed for a PVoC file. We never act as the official importer in Kenya, do not clear customs locally, and do not export vehicles ourselves without going through a licensed Chinese exporter. Our base offer is billed in dollars, complemented by options specific to the region, quoted on request.