Prohibited Imports
Kenya operates a ban on the importation of toxic chemical waste. Products of animal origin such as bones and horn-cores, ivory hippopotamus teeth, rhinoceros horns, tortoise shell, coral, natural sponges and articles of these materials are subject to import prohibition.
Documents Required
The following documents are required when importing goods in Kenya: import declaration forms (IDF), a clean report of findings from the PvoC agent for regulated products, and valid pro forma invoices, certificate of origin, packing list, bill of lading, import license.
Import Tariffs
Kenya applies tariffs based on the international (HS) harmonized system of product classification. Goods imported into Kenya are subject to import duties at various rates: 0% for capital goods and raw materials, 10% for semi-processed goods and 25% for finished products. Duty remission is granted on capital goods, plant, machinery and equipment for investment, including equipment for generation and distribution of electricity. Firms under the EPZ and MUB programs are exempted from import duty on imported production inputs though vehicles and some fuels are not exempted.
The government maintains lower duties and value-added tax for selected items in certain priority sectors. They are: palm oil and tallow, bicycles, steel billets, wire rods, graphite lead, windmills, power transformers, cables, active ingredients used for preparation of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals.
Excise Duty
Excise duty on imports is collected at the time of importation together with other import taxes like import duty and VAT. Some of the goods subject to payment of excise duty include wines and spirits, beer, bottled water, soft drinks, cigarettes, motor vehicles and petroleum products.
Labeling and Marking
Some goods require special labeling. These are condensed milk, paints, varnishes, vegetables, and butter. Imports of pre-packaged paints and related or similar products must be sold by metric weight or metric fluid measure. These indicators must be in metric form or both metric and imperial forms. It is also required to indicate on the labels of all consumables both the date of manufacture and expiry. All pharmaceutical products should include therapeutically active substances, inactive ingredients, name and percentage of any bactericidal or bacteriostatic agent, expiry date, batch number, warnings or precautions, name and business address of manufacturer, and registration number of the product. | 
