Graft allegations rock clearing agents in Mombasa

A ship bringing cargo to Mombasa / BRIAN OTIENO

A section of clearing and forwarding agents in Mombasa are up in arms over graft allegations in one of the departments of the Kenya Revenue Authority.

The clearing and forwarding agents said some officers in KRA’s Investigations and Enforcement (I&E) department are fond of frustrating them when they seek services from the department.

“They will frustrate you to the limit when you seek services from their department. This creates delays with our clients and you may end up losing business.

“These officers want you to opt for an easy way out and give them what they want just so they can grant you the services you require,” A. S, a clearing agent who sought anonymity, told the Star.

However, on Thursday, KRA said some of the complainants are malicious.

Commissioner for Investigations and Enforcement Levi Mukhweso said the department plays no role in the processing of goods through customs.

“This is the primary responsibility of customs officers. Suffice is to add that custims processes are paperless and conducted electronically through Integrated Custims Management System (ICMS),” Mukhweso said in a statement in response.

He said the Long Room no longer exists.

“The complainants are encouraged to report the said officers and provide evidence of any monetary transactions to enable the management to take legal administrative action on them,” Mukhweso said.

He encouraged the general public to report any instances of soliciting by officers, and tax evasion among others through the established channels such as via email at [email protected] or anonymously through iwhistle.kra.ge.ke/welcome or call via  +254 20 4 999 999 or +254 711 099 999 for guidance.

The clearing agents now want the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to step in and probe some of the officers in the I&E department.

The agents say many businesses are suffering in silence for fear of retaliation when you speak up, insisting that investigative bodies must intervene.

Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (Kifwa) said officers in the I&E department should stick to their roles and not engage in ‘extracurricular’ activities.

Kifwa national secretary Musa Mbira said clearing and forwarding agents are not supposed to be harassed or disturbed by the I&E department.

Mbira said should any clearing and forwarding agent be harassed by the department, or any other, they should formally raise complaints with his office for action.

“There is a letter from the Commissioner of Customs that stipulates that I&E should not intervene on any cargo unless there is some intelligence information regarding the particular cargo,” Mbira told the Star on phone.

“Any cargo that has not been flagged by any intelligence officers should not be interfered with by I&E,” the national secretary said.

He said Kifwa once wrote a letter to the Commissioner and he instead did an internal memo warning officers against harassing clearing and forwarding agents.

M.H., another clearing agent, said: “Most companies are being extorted before they are attended to in this department. The DCI and EACC must work hand in hand to ensure that the extorting officers face the full force of the law.”

In a letter dated May 30 addressed to KRA commissioner general Humphrey Wattanga, Kifwa national chairman Frederick Aloo lamented about an upsurge in demand notices from the I&E department, in their thousands, directly issued to Kifwa members and in extension, to their clients, including importers and exporters.

“We vehemently believe that both the taxpayer and the tax authority must operate within the confines of the constitution and the law,” Aloo said in the letter.

He noted there were targeted interventions on goods at ports of clearance.

“It is appalling in the spirit of trade facilitation that immediately after targeting consignments, this department takes an average of two weeks to undertake verification by themselves, as they cannot delegate the role to other departments under the Commissioner of Customs,” Aloo said in part.

“Where they have undertaken such verification, they take another two weeks to issue a verdict of whether the consignment has been granted the clean bill of health or not.”

Aloo then said every single delay occasioned by the department has a daily demurrage cost implication of at least Sh38 per kilogram per day for air cargo, and for sea cargo, an average of Sh15,000 for port charges and shipping line detention per single TEU equivalent.