Kenya moves into DTDC's overseas network on a genuine DTDC air waybill, and we work the price out per consignment — we publish rates only where we hold a card, and international is not one of those places. The part worth reading before you book is who the parcel is addressed to, because in Kenya that is what decides how smoothly it clears.
Kenyan import clearance is handled by the Kenya Revenue Authority, and the recipient is the one who deals with it. For anything beyond a small personal gift they will normally need their KRA PIN — the tax identification number every Kenyan taxpayer and registered business holds — before the consignment can be released. Ask them for it before you book, not after the parcel has landed.
Charges are assessed on the customs value of the goods and paid at the Kenyan end. Import duty depends on the tariff classification, and VAT is 16%. Kenya also applies declaration and levy charges on imports over and above duty and VAT, at rates that are revised from time to time — which is one more reason we do not publish an estimate of what your recipient will pay. They will be told the figure at clearance.
If what you are sending is commercial rather than personal, be aware that Kenya operates a pre-export conformity regime through the Kenya Bureau of Standards for a defined list of regulated products. Goods in scope need a certificate of conformity issued before shipment; arriving without one is expensive to fix from the wrong side of the ocean. If your consignment is stock rather than a gift, tell us and check whether your product category is on the list.
Our own restrictions apply as everywhere: no liquids, syrups, oils, gels, perfumes or aerosols, no cash, gold or jewellery. Sealed factory-packed dry food with a printed ingredient list is fine; meat, dairy and fresh produce are not.
Not sure whether your shipment counts as commercial? Ask before you pack — 9164995001.
Clothes, sealed dry food, books and gifts to relatives. Keep the box to genuinely personal contents and a realistic declared value; the moment a parcel looks like retail stock it is treated as a commercial import with the paperwork that implies.
Certificates, agreements and business papers. The simplest thing we send to Kenya — no valuation and no conformity questions.
Samples and small parts to a Kenyan company. Get the KRA PIN and a contact person from the consignee before booking, and check whether the product category needs a pre-export certificate of conformity.
Quoted individually. We publish figures only where we hold a card to publish them from, and international is not one of those places — so you get a worked-out number rather than a printed guess.
Because clearance in Kenya happens in the recipient's name and the Kenya Revenue Authority identifies them by that number. Beyond a small personal gift, the consignment will not be released without it. Get it from them at booking time, not afterwards.
Import duty by tariff classification plus 16% VAT, with further import levies applied on top at rates that are revised from time to time. It is assessed and collected in Kenya, and an estimate from us would be wrong for your particular goods.
Check whether your product category falls under Kenya's pre-export conformity regime. Goods in scope need a certificate issued by an appointed inspection body before the shipment leaves India, and that is not something anyone can fix once the goods have landed.
City, weight, contents and the recipient's KRA PIN — that is everything we need to quote and book it.