6,000 cars stuck at port as logbooks shortage bites
An estimated 6,000 second-hand cars are stuck at the Mombasa port after the taxman issued a new directive requiring that no imported vehicle should be released before it is fully registered and issued with a logbook.
This new rule is part of an ongoing fight against tax evasion.
Vehicle importers were previously only required to have National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA)-issued electronic stickers and number plate registration to get their cars cleared from the port.
Delays in production of logbooks following the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) directive has seen car importers suffer losses running into millions of shillings that could translate into higher customer prices.
‘EXPERIENCING DELAYS’
“We are experiencing delays in releasing vehicles due to the fact that the process of printing and signing of the logbooks takes a lot of time, hence putting importers in the same problem of paying extra demurrages (storage charges) due to this process,” said the Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK) national vice chairman M. Farooq in a letter addressed to KRA’s commissioner of custom services.
“We would like to request your good office to allow us release the said vehicles on production of an e-sticker and the registration number to save us from the great losses due to unforeseen delays that are beyond our control,” says the letter dated March 14 and which is also copied to NTSA.
The car dealers say the delays have pushed them into a cash flow crisis since some are servicing loans.
A shortage of registration number plates is also adding to the clearance delays.
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SOURCE: Business Daily