ImportCost

Used-car import costs from Japan to East Africa

Q: Why might Kenya duty differ from my auction invoice?

Kenya Revenue Authority values used cars from its Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) list, depreciated by age, not from the Japan auction invoice. Enter the KRA-assessed customs value if you have it.

Q: What is Tanzania’s excess-age or dumping levy?

It is an extra excise duty on imported used vehicles by age, set by the Finance Act, 2026 from 1 July 2026: 18% at 8 to 10 years, 35% at more than 10 and not more than 20 years, and 40% at more than 20 years, charged in addition to engine-size excise.

Q: What is in the full landed-cost report?

For USD 5 or KSh 650 you receive a PDF of the duty breakdown for your car plus a checklist covering documents, inspection, shipping and clearance steps. Checkout is not yet live; request it by email.

Estimate duty and tax for Kenya, Uganda or Tanzania from each country’s official published rules. Enter the CIF or build it from FOB, freight and insurance. These are estimates, not a customs assessment.

Rates checked 12 November 2026, Africa/Nairobi

Calculator

Destination

Kenya Uganda Tanzania

Value currency

KSh per 1 USD Optional, for a second-currency total. Use a Central Bank rate. We do not set one.

Customs / CIF value Cost + insurance + freight to the port of entry, or the official assessed customs value if you have it.

Estimate CIF from FOB, freight and insurance

FOB

Freight

Insurance Enter the actual premium. No rate is assumed.

Engine (cc)

Year of manufacture

Import year

Year of first registration Kenya’s 8-year limit uses this. Leave blank to use year of manufacture.

Fuel / propulsion

Breakdown

Enter a vehicle on the left to see duty, excise, VAT and levies, with the official source for each line.

Full landed-cost report PDF + checklist

USD 5 / KSh 650

A written breakdown for your car and a checklist of documents, pre-shipment inspection, shipping and clearance steps. Prices are shown in both US dollars and Kenya shillings.

Buy the report — USD 5 / KSh 650

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Official rates used

Checked 12 November 2026, Africa/Nairobi. Where an official page still prints an old figure, the current statute or gazette is used and the conflict is noted on the result.

Kenya (KRA)

Import duty: 35% of customs value for motor vehicles in headings 87.02, 87.03 and 87.04, under Kenya’s one-year stay of the 25% EAC CET, in force from 1 July 2026. KRA’s 6 June 2025 press release already recorded the move from 25% to 35%.
Excise: 20% at 1,500 cc or less; 25% above 1,500 cc; 35% for petrol above 3,000 cc (tariff 8703.24.90) and diesel above 2,500 cc (8703.33.90). Charged on customs value plus import duty. Fully electric 10% and hybrid 25% as listed on KRA’s procedures page.
VAT: 16% of customs value plus import duty plus excise.
Import declaration fee: 2.5% of customs value. Railway development levy: 2% of customs value.
Age limit: less than 8 years from the year of first registration; right-hand drive; pre-export roadworthiness inspection.
Valuation: used cars are valued from the KRA CRSP list with depreciation, not from the invoice CIF.

Uganda (URA)

Import duty: 25% of customs value. VAT: 18% of customs value plus import duty. Withholding tax: 6% of customs value. Infrastructure levy: 1.5% of customs value.
Import declaration fee: 1% of customs value (External Trade (Amendment) Act, 2025, in force 1 July 2025). URA’s older FAQ worked example does not yet show this line.
Environmental levy: 50% of CIF for passenger vehicles nine years or more from manufacture; 20% for goods vehicles; none under nine years. Vehicles more than 15 years old are not allowed. A 2026 bill to change these bands was withdrawn on 21 April 2026.
Excise on a typical petrol saloon: not applied here, because URA’s official worked example does not include it and no confirmed published rate for that case was opened.
Valuation: URA Motor Vehicle Value Guide, not the invoice.

Tanzania (TRA)

Import duty: 25% of CIF (EAC CET for heading 87.03; TRA lists finished consumer goods at 25%).
Engine excise, on CIF plus import duty: 5% up to 2,000 cc (including assembled vehicles not exceeding 1,000 cc from 1 July 2026); 10% above 2,000 cc.
Age excise (excess-age / dumping levy), in addition, on the same base, from 1 July 2026: 18% at 8–10 years; 35% at more than 10 and not more than 20 years; 40% at more than 20 years.
VAT: 18% on CIF plus import duty plus both excise amounts in this estimate. Railway development levy: 2% of CIF.
Customs processing fee: 0.6% of FOB in TRA’s official 2025/26 booklet, included only if you enter FOB. A later 2026 change was not confirmed in the Finance Act, 2026 text reviewed.

Sources

Kenya Revenue Authority, Clarification on implementation of the revised CRSP list (press release 6 June 2025) — used-car valuation from CRSP and depreciation; import duty described as 35% in 2025 (up from 25%).
Kenya Revenue Authority, Procedures for Motor Vehicle — 8-year age limit from year of first registration (KEBS KS 1515:2000); excise bands by engine and fuel; VAT 16%. The same page still prints 25% import duty and 3.5% IDF, which have been superseded.
EAC Gazette (Kenya stay of the 25% CET, applying 35% to headings 87.02, 87.03 and 87.04). The 30 June 2024 gazette granted a one-year stay; the stay is recorded again for one year from 1 July 2026 in the EAC Gazette 2026 measures summarised in the July 2026 professional alert on Legal Notice / Gazette No. 16 of 2026. KRA’s June 2025 press release is consistent with the 35% rate.
Excise Duty Act (Cap. 472), First Schedule and section 9 — excise rates and excisable value (customs value + import duty).
Value Added Tax Act (Cap. 476), section 5(2)(b) (standard rate of 16%, as referred to in Legal Notice 128 of 14 July 2026) and section 14 (taxable value of imported goods). LN 128 reduced VAT only for listed fuels, not motor vehicles.
Miscellaneous Fees and Levies Act (Cap. 469C), section 7(2) (IDF 2.5% of customs value) and section 8(2) (RDL 2% of customs value).
Uganda Revenue Authority, Import & Export FAQs — worked example: import duty 25%, VAT 18% of (CIF + duty), WHT 6%, infrastructure levy 1.5%, environmental levy 50% for a passenger car older than nine years; used-car valuation database; 15-year limit.
URA, A Guide to Taxation in Uganda, Seventh Edition — same worked method.
Traffic and Road Safety Act, Cap. 347, section 16 and Schedule 3 — environmental levy 50% / 20% / nil; Parliament of Uganda bill tracker: Traffic and Road Safety (Amendment) Bill, 2026 withdrawn 21 April 2026.
External Trade (Amendment) Act, 2025 (in force 1 July 2025) — infrastructure levy 1.5% and import declaration fee 1% of customs value. Still in force in FY 2026/27 per URA tax-amendments notes (exemptions added, not a repeal).
URA, Motor vehicle Value Guide.
Tanzania, Finance Act, 2026 (Act 2 of 2026, in force 1 July 2026) — age excise 18% / 35% / 40%; 5% engine excise on assembled vehicles not exceeding 1,000 cc (HS 8703.21.90).
Tanzania Revenue Authority, Taxes and Duties at a Glance 2025/26 — engine excise bands, VAT 18%, RDL 2% of CIF, customs processing fee 0.6% of FOB, finished-goods import duty 25%. Age bands in this booklet (15% / 30%) were replaced on 1 July 2026.
TRA, Trading across borders — import duty on CIF; ad-valorem excise on CIF plus import duty.
TRA, Value Added Tax — standard rate 18% on importation of taxable goods.

FAQ

What is CIF value?

CIF is the customs starting point: the cost of the car (FOB), plus international freight, plus insurance, to the port of entry such as Mombasa or Dar es Salaam. Kenya and Uganda often replace the invoice CIF with an official used-car valuation list, so you should enter the assessed value if you have it.

Why might Kenya duty differ from my auction invoice?

KRA values used cars from its Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) list, depreciated by age, not from the Japan auction invoice. Enter the KRA-assessed customs value if you have it. A CIF built from the auction price is only an estimate of that value.

What is Kenya’s 8-year age limit?

KRA, applying KEBS KS 1515:2000, requires an imported used vehicle to be less than 8 years old from the year of first registration, right-hand drive, and inspected for roadworthiness in the country of export. Year of manufacture is used only if you do not enter the year of first registration.

How does Uganda’s environmental levy work?

Under the Traffic and Road Safety Act, passenger vehicles nine years or more from the year of manufacture pay 50% of CIF. Goods vehicles pay 20%. Vehicles under nine years pay none. Passenger vehicles more than 15 years old are not allowed. A 2026 bill that would have tightened the age cap and changed the levy bands was withdrawn on 21 April 2026.

What is Tanzania’s excess-age or dumping levy?

It is an extra excise duty on imported used vehicles by age. From 1 July 2026 the Finance Act, 2026 sets 18% at 8 to 10 years, 35% at more than 10 and not more than 20 years, and 40% at more than 20 years, in addition to engine-size excise. There is no general 8-year import ban for private cars.

Are these official tax amounts?

No. They are estimates from official published rates, checked on 12 November 2026 (Africa/Nairobi). Customs may assess a different value. Port charges, clearing-agent fees, inspection, registration and inland transport are not included. This is not a tax assessment, legal advice or a quote.

What is in the full landed-cost report, and what does it cost?

For USD 5 / KSh 650 you receive a PDF of the duty breakdown for your car plus a checklist of documents, inspection, shipping and clearance steps. Checkout is not yet live; use the buy button to request it by email.

Disclaimer. ImportCost is a free estimator. It applies official published rates as read on 12 November 2026 (Africa/Nairobi), cited above. It does not invent a rate. Where a rate could not be confirmed, that is stated and the line is omitted or left for you to enter. Actual duty depends on the customs value assessed at the time of entry, the tariff line, exemptions and later law changes. Confirm with the revenue authority or a licensed clearing agent before you bid or ship. This site does not provide legal, tax or customs advice.