- KRA will discontinue its electronic cargo seals for dry goods and vehicles from October 26, shifting supply to approved private vendors.
- Importers and transporters will choose providers and negotiate service terms directly with them.
- Fuel cargo seals will be phased out gradually as KRA seeks to reduce shortages and delays.
Importers, exporters and transporters will soon have to buy their cargo tracking seals from private firms, after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) announced that its own seals will stop working on Monday, October 26, 2026.
The change affects the electronic seals KRA currently owns and fits on dry cargo and motor vehicle units under the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS). From the cut off date, those devices will no longer be in use. In a public notice the taxman told clearing and forwarding agents, transporters, bonded warehouse operators and other players to get ready for the shift.
Going forward, all electronic monitoring of goods under Customs control will rely solely on devices supplied by vendors that KRA has approved. Businesses will be free to pick whichever approved supplier suits them. They will then agree on terms directly with that company, since the arrangement rests on private commercial contracts rather than a government supplied service.
To help users find a provider, KRA said the list of approved vendors is on its website. Stakeholders can also email the Cargo Monitoring Unit or call at its offices on the 13th floor of Times Tower in Nairobi. Other Customs offices hold copies of the list as well.
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KRA picked 15 companies for the job in a notice released on September 11. They are Autotronix Telematics Ltd, Bandika IoT, I-Spy Africa Limited, K-Trac Telematics Ltd, Letztalk Technologies Limited, Nebsam Digital Solutions (K) Limited, Oak and Gold Limited, Quartix Telematics Ltd, Radar Telematics Limited, Rivercross Tracking Limited, Safetrac Limited, Savannah Springs Technology Limited and Track and Trace Limited. Two joint ventures also made the list, namely Keshi Holdings with Leavitt Holdings, and Smart Watch Solutions Ltd with PIS Limited.
The rules for fuel shipments are different. KRA said the electronic seals used on wet cargo will not vanish on October 26 but will instead be withdrawn gradually. Operators moving fuel and similar goods should therefore expect separate guidance as the transition unfolds.
The authority has said the new model is meant to tackle shortages of seals and the delays that users often face in getting them. In addition, it expects the approach to improve service, ease congestion at ports and give more traders access to cargo tracking.
RECTS itself is not going away. The system lets Customs officers follow transit and export consignments fitted with electronic seals as they travel along designated routes across the East African Community. What changes is who owns and supplies the devices. Vendors will provide and maintain them, while monitoring of cargo continues as before.
By Benedict Aoya
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