Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected Sh946 million from taxes in the Western region last month following a raft of measures to curb smuggling of goods through the porous borders of Uganda and Tanzania.
Through enhanced surveillance and enforcement in the region, which covers ten counties, the taxman generated more revenue from customs at the Malaba, Busia and Isebania One-Stop Border Posts (OSBP's) and the Lwakhakha satellite station.
KRA Western regional coordinator Patience Wanjau said even though the figure fell short of the Sh1 billion monthly target, the performance was encouraging given the tough economic times.
Out of the total collections, Malaba OSBP generated Sh540 million due to enhanced efficiency in the clearance of trucks making it a key route for goods destined for Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
“This speaks to the significance of this border post because what Mombasa is to Kenya, that is what Malaba is to Uganda therefore the trade flows are significant. By servicing Uganda, we are then servicing further into East and Central Africa,” she said.
She said KRA was in talks with their Ugandan counterparts to ensure all scanners were working round the clock to ease clearance of inbound and outbound cargo.
Wanjau said to enhance efficiency, KRA has set up a customer service centre at the border post, which brings together all the partner government agencies from Kenya and Uganda, and the DRC to facilitate trade.
“With the setting up of the service centre, we expect that the trade volumes are going to go up. A lot more of our traders will continue to use this facility,” she said.
She said small-scale cross-border traders have been allocated space at the service centre to facilitate their businesses and broaden KRA's tax base.
Wanjau said traders will have access to all KRA services at the centre, among them PIN registration and filing of tax returns, to ensure they operate within the confines of the law.
“Besides customs, we are ensuring KRA services are accessible to the small traders as we also collect domestic tax. This is in line with KRA's plan to expand the tax base,” she said.
Speaking at Malaba during the commissioning of the centre, KRA Deputy Commissioner in charge of Border Control and Enforcement Chege Macharia said the facility was set to improve the cargo turnaround clearance time, thus raking in more revenue.
“The way the OSBP was designed, you have offices at different places, and clearance agents spend a lot of time moving from one office to another,” he said.
“By having all the relevant services under one roof, it will take a shorter time to have goods cleared, thus improving our efficiency and revenues.”