The Kenya Transporters Association has vehemently condemned the Kenya Revenue Authority for imposing punitive duties on transit goods lost to highway robbers, highlighting a severe crisis in the logistics sector.

In a deeply controversial move that has sent shockwaves through East Africa's logistical hubs, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is facing intense backlash for charging customs duty on coffee and other cargo stolen by criminals. Transporters find themselves caught in a devastating financial crossfire, bearing the brunt of both criminal enterprise and rigid state taxation policies.

The Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) recently exposed the grim reality facing logistics firms traversing the Northern Corridor. According to the association, transporters who lose high-value cargo to organized syndicates are being penalized twice.

A Devastating Double Financial Blow

When a consignment of premium Kenyan or transit coffee vanishes into the black market, the transporter is immediately confronted with parallel claims. Cargo owners, understandably seeking compensation, demand immediate restitution for their stolen goods. Simultaneously, the KRA aggressively pursues the transporter for the associated taxes and duties, operating under the strict assumption that the goods entered the local market.

This uncompromising stance by the taxman ignores the reality of sophisticated cargo theft networks operating along major East African highways. It effectively criminalizes the victim, placing an unbearable financial burden on businesses already struggling with soaring fuel costs and inflation.

The Economic Ripple Effect on Logistics

The implications of this policy extend far beyond individual transport companies. The Northern Corridor, starting from the Port of Mombasa, is the economic jugular of East Africa, facilitating billions of KES in regional trade. Punitive tax measures threaten to destabilize this critical supply chain.

• Transporters face sudden bankruptcy due to compounding multi-million KES claims from both the KRA and aggrieved cargo owners.
• Insurance premiums for transit cargo have skyrocketed, further increasing the overall cost of doing business in Kenya.
• Foreign investors and regional partners view the taxation on stolen goods as a severe deterrent to utilizing the Mombasa port.

Industry insiders warn that if the current framework remains unaltered, smaller logistics firms will simply collapse, leading to mass job losses and reduced tax revenue in the long run.

Calls for Immediate Policy Reform

Stakeholders are urgently calling for a collaborative approach between the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the KRA. When a legitimate police report confirms cargo theft, industry leaders argue that the corresponding tax liabilities should be suspended or waived entirely.

The current environment breeds deep mistrust between the private sector and government agencies. Transporters feel abandoned by the state apparatus designed to protect them, left to fend for themselves against both armed robbers and aggressive tax collectors.

"Taxing the victims of organized crime is not revenue collection; it is the systematic suffocation of the Kenyan logistics industry," warns a senior KTA official.