A customs dispute arises when a customs officer makes a decision or takes an action that is contrary to a taxpayer’s expectation with regard to tariffs, valuation, origin of goods, bonds and other customs procedures. The dispute could be lead to imposition of duties, fines and penalties or even seizure of goods.
Before formally objecting to the decision, the taxpayer may seek clarification or resolution with the issuing customs officer. Where there is no formal written communication, the taxpayer has the right to request for the decision in writing.
Under the current dispute resolution mechanism provided under the East Africa Community Customs Management Act, 2004, (EACCMA) the affected taxpayer must file a formal request for review under Section 229 of EACCMA if the dispute is unresolved. The request for review must be made within 30 days of receiving the decision, should include the grounds for the objection and can be delivered physically or electronically to the relevant customs office.
The Commissioner is expected to issue a review decision within 30 days to which the taxpayer has a right to appeal to the Tax Appeals Tribunal within 45 days of receiving the review decision.
Introduction of Independent Review of Objections & Technical Review Unit in Customs disputes
In line with the Kenya Gazette Notice No. 1036, dated February 1, 2019, Kenya Revenue Authority issued a public notice on July 3, 2025, introducing a new independent review process designed to make customs dispute resolution fairer and more efficient. As part of this reform, KRA will roll out the Independent Review of Objections (IRO) and Technical Review Unit (TRU) for handling customs-related disputes.
The IRO unit will be composed of independent tax and customs experts who review objections to customs decisions separate from the original assessing officers.
The dispute resolution stages under the new mechanism are listed below:
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