The High Court has temporarily suspended the implementation of the Kenya Revenue Authority’s (KRA) revised Current Retail Selling Price (CRSP) schedule for used motor vehicles, just hours before it was scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2025.
In interim orders issued on Monday, the court certified as urgent a petition challenging the legality and fairness of the updated valuation framework used to determine import taxes on used vehicles. The suspension halts the rollout of both the May 22 circular (Ref: C&BC/HQ/1) and the May 30 public notice posted on KRA’s website.
The petitioner argues that the CRSP update was introduced without meaningful public participation, in violation of Articles 10 and 201 of the Constitution, which require inclusivity and transparency in legislative and financial decision-making. While KRA claims it consulted stakeholders, the petition alleges that these consultations were limited to vehicle dealers, excluding consumers and the wider public.
The court has been asked to compel KRA to disclose the identities of the consulted stakeholders and provide details of the engagement process. The petitioner also argues that the CRSP schedule qualifies as a statutory instrument under the Statutory Instruments Act, and should therefore have been presented to Parliament, as required by Article 94(6) of the Constitution, a step KRA allegedly skipped.
Additionally, the 30-day notice period between publication and implementation is being challenged as unreasonable and unlawful under Article 47, which guarantees fair administrative action. The petition notes that the vehicle import process typically spans 3 to 6 months, meaning importers who ordered vehicles under the 2019 CRSP schedule face the risk of unfair taxation under new, higher valuations.
The CRSP list is further criticized for containing serious factual errors and omissions, including the exclusion of common vehicle models, incorrect matching of features, fuel types, and even chassis numbers. Some vehicles already en route to Kenya could face unexpected taxation due to these discrepancies.
“The impugned CRSP was hurriedly assembled and is pervaded with fundamental errors… attaching different values to the same model and failing to list vehicles already commonly imported into the country,” court documents state.
The High Court has suspended the CRSP implementation until July 17, 2025, and directed that all relevant documents be served on KRA and other respondents ahead of the scheduled hearing.
Written By Rodney Mbua
