A vocal Member of Parliament allied to the Kenya Kwanza government has hit out at the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over its stance on custom regulations at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
In a statement on Tuesday, October 31, Belgut MP Nelson Koech – who doubles up as the Chairperson of the Defence and Foreign Affairs Commitee in the National Assembly, called out the revenue authority for poor timing of the changes set to affect tourists and Kenyans coming from abroad.
Further, the MP maintained that there was no justification for the alleged harassment, noting that the custom officials should make it easy for visitors to access Kenya.
According to the legislator, KRA erred in announcing the changes on the eve of King Charles’ visit to Kenya and a time Kenya was expecting visitors.
“We are entering the peak tourism season and His Majesty’s visit to Kenya is poised to give our tourism a very big boost,” he stated.
“The KRA’s Passenger Terminal Guidelines could not have come at a worse time. This is not the time to be threatening those coming to Kenya.”
“We agree, the laws around the world impose limitations on the amount of good but that should not be an excuse to threaten passengers, harass travelers or infringe on the privacy of tourists.”
His statement came on the back of a raging furor from Kenyans criticizing KRA over its management of customs especially at the JKIA.
Monday evening post that put KRA on the spot
On Monday, October 30, Foreign Affairs CS Alfred Mutua sparked a conversation surrounding complaints from Kenyans accusing the tax man of imposing unfriendly regulations.
Also Read: Kenyans in Diaspora Reveal Harassment by Customs Officials at JKIA
Mutua, while addressing stakeholders in the tourism docket decried what he described as prohibitory tax regulations, noting that they were an impediment to the growth of Kenya’s tourism.
In a subsequent post, KRA posted a reminder of the custom regulations stating the criteria used in determining what goods should be declared upon entering Kenya.
Also Read: KRA Forced to Delete Controversial Post on Taxes After Uproar
In a move to further clarify the custom rules, the revenue authority asserted that all goods valued at above Ksh75,000 were subject to taxation. This, however sparked a bigger outrage, with Kenyans taking to their social media to question the practicality of the custom regulation.
According to some comments sampled from the reactions, the cap set by KRA was too low considering that some Kenyans travelling back to Kenya carry personal gadgets exceeding the set cap of Ksh75,000 in valuation.
Amidst the uproar, KRA pulled down the post to raise further questions on the regulations prescribing the criteria used to determine what goods should be declared.
