•This translates to about Sh474 million a month.
•The cost is related to storage charges by Container Freight Stations and parking yards mainly in Mombasa.
Importers of used motor vehicles are spending at least Sh15.8 million a day on units parked at different Container Freight Stations (CFSs), as a number plate shortage hits the country.
This translates to about Sh474 million a month on more than 7,000 vehicles imported into the country in the past 30 days, as more vessels dock at the Port of Mombasa.
In addition these charges is demurrage with motor vehicle dealers and business community decrying unfair treatment since they have paid the requisite taxes and duty.
“They are charging businesses for their inefficiency?,” Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) Mombasa chapter CEO James Kitavi queried.
More units are coming into the country with one RORO docking at the port on Monday. Six more were expected between yesterday and August 22, Kenya Ports Authority vessel schedule shows.
A RORO is a car-carrying vessels designed to allow units to be driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using a platform vehicle, such as a self-propelled modular transporter.
The seven vessels will discharge a total of 4,568 units whose owners will be forced to wait longer before getting physical number plates, with most cars being parked at CFSs in Mombasa.
On average, yards in Mombasa charge Sh2, 000 per unit per day inclusive of VAT. Container Freight Stations charge between Sh300 and Sh1,000 depending on the size of a vehicle.
Car owners also pay $0.25(Sh27.20) per cubic meter as customs fee, with a minimum of 10 cubic meters. A saloon car, which averages 10 cubic meters, will pay Sh260 on top of the CFS charge.
“Vessels are still coming in which means catching up will take time. We have a problem,” Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK) national chairman, Peter Otieno, told the Star yesterday.
Most affected are private vehicle importers and dealers importing units for sale.
Kenya imports between 7,000 and 12,000 used cars a month mainly from Japan (80 per cent), with other markets being United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, Singapore and South Africa.
The National Transport and Safety Authority(NTSA) has acknowledged a hitch on the production of number plates and logbooks by the State Department of Correctional Services (prisons) and the government printer respectively.
As at Friday last week, it was allocating number plates registration series KDD-P against the last series supplied of KDD-L, it says, thus translating to a deficit of 3,000 number plates pending supply.
Challenges facing production also include the third plate sticker(e-sticker) , which is among other standards recently introduced to enhance identification of registered motor vehicles.
It has written to the Kenya Revenue Authority to authorise the release of vehicles which have been duly registered and the e-sticker affixed on their windscreen, pending issuance of physical plates and logbooks.
“In the meantime, we are working closely with our suppliers to adress the challenges,” NTSA director general George Njao says in a letter to KRA commissioner general Githii Mburu.
KPA has also been asked to release units held at the port if importers produce RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) stickers), thus the e-sticker and the original logbook, as an evidence of registration.