New car owners are set to dig deeper for used cars, after the eight-year rule on car imports took effect on January 1, 2022.
According to a spot check by Uzalendo News, car importers were paying premium deals to have 2015-made cars arrive in Kenya before the deadlines.
KRA stands to lose up to Sh30 billion in excise duty, in addition to losses to dealers and individual auto importers in the new regulation.
KRA collects Sh250,000 or more for each unit of a second-hand car that arrives at the Mombasa Port.
The Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK) said the majority of the 2015 vehicles arrived in Kenya before the deadline of December 31.
When compared to locally produced vehicles, which start at around Sh1.5 million, the majority cost slightly more than Sh1 million.
Kenyans prefer to import old vehicles from Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, and South Africa as a result of this.
The East African Community (EAC) is pushing to reduce the age restriction for imported cars into the area to five years in order to stimulate local vehicle assembly. It also aims to reduce carbon emissions.
Tanzania previously had no age restrictions but has lately imposed an eight-year limit. There are no restrictions in Rwanda, Burundi, or South Sudan.
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