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Blogs
Salvage and Wreck: What the Law Expects When Cargo or a Vessel Is Lost at Sea
The honest answer is that the sea keeps three ledgers, and they do not add up the same way. General average is a contribution among the interests that were saved. Salvage is a reward to the person who saved them. Wreck removal is the cost of clearing a sunken or abandoned ship from the place where it is doing harm. A single container can appear in all three. Knowing which is which is the difference between a claim you can make and a bill you did not expect.
Rules of Origin: The Passport Behind Africa’s New Trade Doors
Good Morning Africa: Global Trade Africa. AfCFTA, China’s zero tariff and AGOA to 2028 are all open to African goods, and all three ask the same question first: where was it made? What each door asks for, and five checks before you claim a preference.
Moving Home to Kenya: The Returning Resident Guide for Household Goods
Are you a Kenyan citizen changing residence from abroad to within the country? Discover the benefits of the East African Community Customs Management Act, which allows exemption for personal and household effects. This guide provides essential information on who qualifies, what’s covered, and the 90-day clock.
The Returning Residents Rule: What the Law Allows, and Where It Stops
The Fifth Schedule of EACCMA lists goods that may be imported free of duty across the Partner States. Part B covers exemptions tied to particular persons or circumstances. Item 5 deals with a passenger changing residence from a place outside a Partner State to a place within it. In Kenya, KRA administers the relief and publishes its own returning resident guidelines, processed through the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS).
Africa’s Trade Corridors Are Moving, But the Bottlenecks Are Real
Good Morning Africa: Global Trade Africa. Mombasa is running hot, Kenya has new pre arrival rules, Hormuz is still disrupted and AGOA now runs to 31 December 2028. What changed and what to check before your next booking.
Import Delays: What Usually Holds a Container, And How To Cut The Wait
Mombasa handled 2.11 million TEUs in 2025 while KPA free days stayed fixed. Tariff free periods, common document holds, and a pre arrival sequence for FCL and LCL imports.
Keep the export declaration. Kenya now expects it for five years.
From 1 September 2026, Tax Procedures Act Section 23B requires importers to obtain and retain the foreign export declaration for five years from the date of importation. Gazette wording, trend context, and a practical checklist.
Understanding The Communiqué and the Gazette in Trade Law
On Monday 4 May, two presidents pledged to eliminate every remaining non tariff barrier between Kenya and Tanzania by 30 June. On Tuesday 5 May, Kenya published a Finance Bill proposing a 35 percent excise duty on Tanzanian glass bottles.
In East Africa, communiqués are written for the cameras. Gazettes are applied at the border. This column reads both, and tells you which one binds. This week: how Parliament’s retreat on excise duties, Tanzania’s scrapping of its Industrial Development Levy, and the AGOA extension to 2028 reshape the practical rules for importers, exporters and manufacturers moving goods across the region. Plus a five point checklist for traders before next Tuesday.
Air or Sea from China to Kenya: Are You Paying Per KG or Per CBM?
Almost every week someone calls us with the same question. "I have goods ready in Guangzhou. Should I bring them by air or by sea?" The honest answer is that it depends on two...