How to Get a KRA Valuation Letter for Import Duty in Kenya

This guide explains what a KRA valuation letter is, why it matters, how to get one through the iCMS portal or at a KRA office, and what to do if the figure they give you is wrong.

What Is a KRA Valuation Letter?

A KRA valuation letter is an official document from Kenya Revenue Authority confirming the customs value they will use to calculate import duty on a specific vehicle. It's not a bill — it's a statement of the figure KRA has on record for your car's make, model, year, engine, and specification.

That figure comes from the Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP), a KRA-maintained database of vehicle values. The CRSP represents what each vehicle model would have sold for brand new, in the original retail market. KRA then applies a depreciation schedule to arrive at the taxable customs value.

The letter matters because everything flows from it. Import duty, excise duty, VAT, IDF, and RDL are all calculated as percentages of that single customs value. If the CRSP figure is wrong — whether because KRA has misidentified the vehicle spec or applied the wrong year — your entire tax bill is wrong.

How the CRSP and Depreciation Work

The CRSP depreciation schedule reduces the customs value by 3% for each year from the year of manufacture. There is a floor: regardless of age, the minimum customs value is 30% of the original CRSP. So even a very old vehicle — if it were allowed through (Kenya's 8-year rule means most won't be) — would still be taxed on at least 30% of its new price.

The practical implication: a 2018 Toyota Harrier 2.5L Hybrid imported in 2026 is 8 years from manufacture. Eight years at 3% per year gives a depreciation of 24%, leaving a customs value of 76% of the original CRSP.

If the CRSP for that vehicle is KES 4,500,000, the customs value is:

KES 4,500,000 × (1 − 0.24) = KES 3,420,000

Import duty, excise, and VAT are then calculated on KES 3,420,000 — not on what you paid for the car at auction in Osaka. If you bought that Harrier for JPY 1,200,000 (roughly KES 1,000,000 at current rates), you might be surprised to learn you're being taxed on a customs value more than three times that.

This is not a bug in the system — it's deliberate policy. KRA uses the CRSP specifically to prevent under-invoicing: buyers declaring artificially low purchase prices to reduce their tax bill. The CRSP is KRA's answer to that, and it applies uniformly regardless of what the invoice says.

Why You Need a Valuation Letter

Three situations make a valuation letter essential.

Budgeting before the car ships. The most common reason buyers request one. Once you know the customs value, you can calculate your full tax bill and total landed cost before committing to a purchase. Changing your mind after the car has shipped from Japan costs money — storage fees at the port, potential re-export costs, or accepting a tax bill you hadn't planned for. A valuation letter gives you the number before the ship leaves port.

Bank or SACCO financing. If you're financing the import through a bank or SACCO, the lender will ask for a KRA valuation. They don't lend based on your purchase receipt from Japan — they lend based on KRA's assessed value of the vehicle. Some lenders will go up to 80% of the KRA customs value. If the CRSP-based value is lower than you expected, your loan approval may be for less than you need.

Customs entry by your clearing agent. When your clearing agent files the customs declaration (the Bill of Entry) at Mombasa port, they reference the CRSP customs value. Having the valuation letter confirmed in advance means no surprises at the port, no disputes with the KRA valuation officer, and no delays while the car sits in a bonded warehouse accumulating storage charges.

How to Get a KRA Valuation Letter

Option 1: KRA iCMS Portal (Faster)

The KRA Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) is the online portal where vehicle valuations can be checked without visiting a KRA office. The process:

1. Go to the KRA iCMS portal (customs.kra.go.ke)
2. Navigate to the vehicle valuation section
3. Enter the vehicle details: make, model, year of manufacture, engine capacity (in cc), fuel type, body type, and transmission type
4. The system returns the applicable CRSP for that specification and the depreciated customs value based on the year entered
5. Print or save the output — this serves as the valuation reference for most clearing purposes and for bank pre-approval

The iCMS route is faster and doesn't require you to travel to Nairobi or Mombasa. For most standard vehicles — Toyotas, Nissans, Hondas, Suzukis — the CRSP is already in the database and the valuation comes back immediately.

Option 2: KRA Customs Office (For Complex Cases)

If the vehicle is unusual — an imported left-hand drive, a rare specification not in the iCMS database, or a commercial vehicle with atypical specs — you may need to visit KRA Customs directly.

Approach KRA Customs at the port of entry (Mombasa) or at KRA offices in Nairobi (Times Tower, Upper Hill). Bring:

• Vehicle documents: Japanese export certificate, auction sheet, or foreign logbook
• The purchase invoice from the seller
• Your national ID or passport
• The vehicle's VIN/chassis number

KRA's customs valuation officers will assess the vehicle against the CRSP database and issue a formal written valuation. This is the official document you then provide to your bank and clearing agent.

What Affects the Valuation

The CRSP is not a single flat number per model name. KRA's database distinguishes vehicles based on several factors — and getting these wrong is the most common source of disputes.

Year of manufacture — Not the year of first registration, not the model year name used in marketing. The actual year the vehicle was manufactured. In Japan, many cars are manufactured in one year and registered in another. A car manufactured in December 2018 but first registered in January 2019 is a 2018 vehicle for CRSP purposes. This affects depreciation significantly: one extra year of depreciation (3%) saves you 3% on the customs value.

Engine capacity and fuel type — A 2,000cc petrol and a 2,494cc diesel version of what looks like the same model will have different CRSP values and attract different excise rates. Hybrid drivetrains (petrol-electric) have their own CRSP entries separate from the non-hybrid equivalents.

Body type — Sedan, station wagon, SUV, pickup, van, and minibus are each categorised separately in the CRSP. A Toyota Hilux double cab and a Toyota Hilux single cab are different entries.

Drive type — For some models, 2WD and 4WD variants carry different CRSP values. A Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 4WD does not have the same CRSP as a 2WD variant of the same model year.

Electric vehicles — EVs have separate CRSP entries and are taxed under a different duty structure. The import duty concession for EVs under Kenya's EV promotion policy means a lower effective duty rate than an equivalent petrol vehicle.

What to Do If You Disagree with the Valuation

KRA valuations are not always correct. The most common errors:

• The system applies the wrong model year — using 2019 specs for a 2018 vehicle, giving a higher CRSP
• The vehicle specification is misidentified — a 1,800cc hybrid flagged as a 2,000cc petrol
• A lower-grade variant is valued at the premium variant CRSP

If you believe the valuation is wrong, you can dispute it. The process requires a formal written objection submitted to KRA Customs, supported by documentation. Strong evidence includes:

• The original Japanese auction sheet showing the exact engine code, grade, and manufacture date
• The export certificate confirming the chassis number and specification
• Evidence of the vehicle's market price in Japan or the UAE for the specific grade
• Technical documentation showing the correct engine capacity for the grade

Disputes take time. A straightforward specification correction might be resolved in a week or two. A contested CRSP valuation — where you're arguing the database value itself is too high for the market — can run for weeks and may require escalation to the KRA Dispute Resolution process. Your car will sit at the port or a bonded warehouse during this period, and storage fees accumulate daily.

The practical lesson: disputes are sometimes worth it — particularly on high-value vehicles where the CRSP error translates to hundreds of thousands of shillings in excess tax. On a mid-range hatchback, the cost and delay of disputing a modest error may not be worth it. Do the maths before you decide to fight.

A Worked CRSP Example

To make the numbers concrete: a 2018 Toyota Harrier 2.5L Hybrid has a CRSP of approximately KES 4,500,000.

Step	Calculation	Amount (KES)
CRSP (original)	KRA database value	4,500,000
Depreciation	8 years × 3% = 24%	−1,080,000
Customs value	4,500,000 × 76%	3,420,000
Import duty (25%)	3,420,000 × 25%	855,000
Excise duty (25% hybrid)	3,420,000 × 25%	855,000
VAT base	3,420,000 + 855,000 + 855,000	5,130,000
VAT (16%)	5,130,000 × 16%	820,800
IDF (3.5%)	3,420,000 × 3.5%	119,700
RDL (2%)	3,420,000 × 2%	68,400
Total KRA taxes		2,718,900

A buyer who purchased this Harrier for JPY 1,500,000 (around KES 1,250,000) is looking at KRA taxes of nearly KES 2.7 million — more than twice what they paid for the car. That is not an error. That is how the CRSP system works, and it is exactly why getting the valuation letter before you commit to a purchase is so important.

The Bottom Line

The KRA valuation letter is not bureaucratic paperwork — it's the single most important financial document in an import. It tells you the customs value KRA will use, which sets your entire tax bill. Get it before you buy. Verify that the vehicle details on the letter match your actual vehicle. And if the numbers look off — particularly the year of manufacture or the engine specification — take the time to correct it before the car ships, not after it's sitting in Mombasa on port storage at KES 2,000 per day.

The Sharp.co.ke car import duty calculator uses CRSP data to estimate your full tax breakdown instantly. Enter the make, model, year, and engine type and get a figure you can take to your clearing agent and your bank before you wire a deposit abroad.