On average how long does it take to clear a container from Mombasa?

Seems there are a few KRA officials on this forum or clearing agents who can chime in with some info.

Any one know how long on average it will take to clear a containerised vehicle that arrived in Mombasa on Wednesday and is to be routed through a nominated Container Freight Station? (And not Joho’s)

I would be interested in the procedure which I roughly think is as follows,

  1. Container arrives, is offloaded and taken to the CFS (2 days? Friday)
  2. Agent lodges documents online, duty is calculated and paid for by yours truly (1st day Thursday)
  3. Verification of the container load (4th dayn- Tuesday)
  4. Application for licence plates (5th day- Wednesday)
  5. Payment of shipping charges, port charges and CFS charges (6-7th day - Thursday or Friday)
  6. Release of container fron CFS (7-8th day - Friday or Saturday)

Thus for a car arriving this Wednesday I cant see it till Friday/Saturday next week. Is that accurate or close to reality?

Ni ile Bima?
@Meria Mata kuja hapa.

ni aircraft carrier simulator…

Si amesema ni gari…kwani unasoma na jicho moja from right to left

points 2-4 can be done in a day. next day ikuwe to ni release.
However 2&3 can take a very long time if your agent is not smart.
Since it is in a container the application for no. plates can be done after the release. (To avoid storage charges)
If you have a reliable agent don’t stress yourself just relax and let the niccur do his work. Giving him endless calls and pretending to know more than him will not help.
You are welcome

Asante, I just want to have an idea so I dont die of ulcers and also so that as I apply pressure on the agent I do so reasonably. Does smart mean pushing a few buttons the Kenyan way?
So far,

a) Entry was done but cant pay duty because there was an error, correction requested but I hear KRA say they will amend after verification, If you look carefully under goods description in the attache Entry, the system failed to pick car manufacture date though I think it was intentionally done by KRA to ensure I am not evading tax. I have altered/erased some details. This internet made someone loose his diplomatic passport yesterday.
b) Container on the way to CFS, verification planned afternoon but this is Kenya and I am not sure it will happen on a friday, Monday sounds real. Does customs work Saturdays?

So based on your answer I guess we could be looking at verifying Monday, paying duty Wednesday and probably Friday release.

@Electronics4u - You bet. It is
@hakimoto - Never do an exam in future, you may be very dissapointed:D:D
@Black.Templar - The very reason why some of us dont go to church is because we think and question:D:D

Congrats on your new ride bro

Congrats. Uiweke hapa once cleared.

I will. I intend to go to Western Kenya with it next weekend if it will be out by Friday. A review will definately be posted. Thank you all.

A friend’s cargo arrived at the port on the 12th of this month, and even as we’re speaking, he’s not been able to to get it! He used African Salihiya.

-Entry is made by agent,so if there is a mistake it is by the agent. Don’t panic though.
-The verification can’t happen until you pay the duty. Verification is just checking that what you paid for is actually what is in the container.
If the guys at times tower suspect anything they can instruct the verification officer to verify first before the entry passes,a process called pre verification.
So this is what will happen, your agent will amend the entry, (a long process especially if it was his mistake) he will pass it to you to pay the duty,depending on the mood of DPC times tower entry may or may not pass before verification. But a car in a container is usually suspected so probably pre verification will happen.
Give your agent about 1 week to do his thing.

Pole, siku hizi waria wamekaliwa ngumu kidogo na hii serikali ya chupelee.

Haha no Ngai woma! I gather that they had about 5 among the several detained containers the other day!

nikunoma coast. Last month nilishikiwa reefer container (refrigerated) ilikaa huko 18 days. Usitake kujua ile storage na hongo nilitumia. na pia ikafanya zingine 26 ningepewa ninyimwe. #Ferkuhuruto

:eek::eek::eek::mad:

You should have shipped your car with KQ, airport kuna lesser hustles ya clearing kuliko kwa port.

Boss wangu air freight nikama kununua gari ingine. Hiyo wachia akina Kabogo ma DT Dobie.

It’s only 100K from SA.

Ndege ngani hiyo. also huko unapewa 2 free days only after that storage inaanza kuingia. So by the time you register entry and get the number plates ytakuwa umemeza siku kadhaa. Air is only cheap if duty imenyongwa kabisa ulipe kitu kidogo.

True, ndege ni KQ they charge between 80-100K and they give you only one free day storage, I cleared mine in two days juu ya verification, but I agree one can incur significant storage charges if verification takes long.