The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Customs and Border Control Department opened the 2026/2027 financial year with a record-breaking performance, netting Ksh92.53 billion in July 2026. Surpassing the Treasury’s baseline target of Ksh86.16 billion by Ksh6.37 billion, the collection posted an impressive 107.39 percent performance rate and marked a 15.3 percent jump over the Ksh80.29 billion gathered in July 2025.
This milestone builds on momentum from June 2026, when the department previously set a monthly high of Ksh89.1 billion. Non-oil taxes drove the surge, breaching the Ksh60 billion threshold for the first time in KRA’s history to hit Ksh61.50 billion.
Tax authorities link the gains to modernizing customs procedures, tightening cargo controls, and embedding digital tools into daily administration. Beyond driving revenue, the agency has scaled up enforcement to block leakages and stop illicit cross-border trade while smoothing pathways for compliant merchants through major trade corridors like the Port of Mombasa.
KRA Customs and Border Control Commissioner Dr. Lilian Nyawanda noted that the milestone reflects deliberate structural investments in digital infrastructure, compliance frameworks, and stakeholder engagement.
“The record collection in July is a significant milestone for KRA and a strong start to the new financial year. It demonstrates that our investments in technology, compliance, trade facilitation and stakeholder collaboration are delivering results,” Nyawanda said.
She added that the authority will maintain its focus on easing operations for law-abiding traders while collecting every shilling owed to the public purse.
To maintain this momentum, KRA and the Kenya Ports Authority are rolling out operational upgrades to clear cargo faster at the Port of Mombasa, including round-the-clock operations at Container Freight Stations and a Smart Gate pilot to automate port departures.
Complementing these efforts, the Advanced Cargo Declaration system debuted on August 3, allowing importers to submit and review documentation before goods leave foreign ports—a platform that has already processed over 1,000 applications.
