The WCO, with the support of the WCO-Finland ESA Project II and the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) through GIZ, conducted a pre-arrival clearance diagnostic mission from 30 July to 2 August 2019.
The key objective of this mission was to assist Kenya in the establishment and implementation of requisite legislative and operational measures for expediting the release of goods through pre-arrival processing, which is one of core trade facilitation measures as detailed in Article 7.1 of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) and Standard 3.25 of the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC). Pre-arrival processing brings a higher level of predictability and transparency to Customs procedures hence improving the business environment, and leading to increased economic competitiveness and investment.
WCO and GATF experts conducted an in-depth analysis of the current national situation regarding pre-arrival processing vis-a-vis relevant international standards and global best practices with a view to identifying gaps and providing recommendations on legal, procedural, technical and human resource requirements inter alia. Based on this analysis, a set of recommendations for an effective implementation of a pre-arrival processing system were drawn up in line with Article 7.1 of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), Standard 3.25 of the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) and the SAFE Framework of Standards.
The KRA, in collaboration with other government agencies and the private sector, is committed to moving forward with the implementation of a pre-arrival processing system. The WCO and GATF will continue to provide all the necessary support to KRA as may be required, to support this initiative going forward.