A cargo ship docked at the port of Mombasa, in Kenya. If a new Bill is passed, the clearance of goods will be swift and efficient. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP East Africa’s quest to improve service delivery at the ports of entry has gone a notch higher with Kenya joining Rwanda, Burundi and Tanzania in domesticating a version of the East African Customs Agents and Freight Forwarders Management Model Bill 2017.
Under the proposed Kenya Customs Agents and Freight Forwarders Bill, all agents will have to demonstrate their understanding of the cargo clearance processes, valuations and classification.
The drafting of the Bill started in 2014 and was completed in 2017. It is designed to bring order, efficiency, accountability and professionalism in the sector.
So far, Rwanda, Kenya, Burundi and Tanzania have drafted national Bills; the Rwanda Freight Forwarders Association is getting the draft adopted as a Bill to be presented to parliament.
Customs agents will also be required to be well versed in classification, rules of origin and management, of the changing regional regulatory regime, and of Kenya’s clearing systems, digital gadgets and portals.
Once the Bill is adopted later this year, all clearing and forwarding agents and firms will be vetted afresh. “A person shall not engage in the practice as a Customs clearing and freight forwarder unless that person has been issued with a practicing licence and has complied with the requirements of this Act,” the Bill says. Anyone who contravenes the law will be liable to a fine not exceeding $10,000 for an individual or $20,000 for a legal person or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both.
The proposed law is pushing for the mandate of licensing of clearing agents to be transferred from the Customs departments of the Kenya Revenue Authority to what will be known as the Kenya Customs Agents and Freight Forwarders Registration Board.
“We know the industry is infested with briefcase agents and we want to get rid of them,” said Roy Mwanthi, chair of the Kenya International Freight Forwarders Association (Kifwa).
The new law is also expected to reduce cases of missing cargo. “A Custom agent or freight forwarder who fails to exercise due care and diligence shall be liable to compensate the owner for the loss of or damage to the goods as well as for direct loss resulting from breach of the duty of care,” reads a section of […]