Kenyan Tax Tribunal Rules Withholding Tax Inapplicable on Foreign Agency Fees, Providing Relief for Businesses KRA now requires daily tax payments from betting firms in Kenya

KRA will today switch off the Integrated Customs Management System for 12 hours. iCMS goes down at 06:00 and returns at 18:00, under a notice dated 10 September. For those 12 hours nobody can lodge a customs entry, pay duty or get a release order. Anything not filed by 06:00 waits until evening.

The move comes even as Mombasa runs at record volumes. The port handled 45.45 million tonnes of cargo in 2025, up from 40.99 million in 2024, according to Kenya Ports Authority figures released by managing director Capt. William Ruto. That averages about 124,500 tonnes a day. Port storage and container demurrage are charged per calendar day, and the notice mentions no waiver.

KRA’s wording is brief. “Please be advised that there will be scheduled maintenance of iCMS from Sunday, 13th September, 2026, 6:00 AM to Sunday, 13th September, 2026, 6:00 PM. We regret any inconvenience caused.” No reason for the work. No manual procedure for cargo that has to move anyway.

The window could still shrink. In March KRA announced a 36-hour shutdown running 4 to 6 April, then replaced it eight days later with seven hours on 12 April, 04:00 to 11:00. KRA said that change followed stakeholder consultations and an assessment of operations at the Port of Mombasa.

All of this lands in a heavy month for customs technology. KRA named 15 approved electronic seal vendors on 11 September and gave traders until 26 October to move off KRA-owned seals, a week after it ordered businesses to keep live stock records in TIMS and eTIMS.