Export documents importers must now keep

The export-country documents a Kenyan importer must obtain and keep from 1 September 2026, what is at stake, and how to file them with the purchase.

By Achekam · 11 October 2026 · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Kenya

Until recently, a Kenyan importer's paperwork mostly started at the Kenyan border: the customs entry, the duty and VAT paid, the clearing agent's invoice. What happened in the country the goods came from was the supplier's business. The Finance Act 2026 changes that, by asking importers to hold evidence from the other end of the journey too.

For a business that imports regularly, this is a change to how it deals with overseas suppliers, not just to its filing. The documents have to be requested, received and kept, shipment by shipment. This article explains the new requirement, why it matters, and a practical way to build it into the buying process.

The new requirement

According to KRA's summary of the Finance Act 2026, importers must, from 1 September 2026, obtain and keep a document from the country of export showing that the goods left it. KRA lists what qualifies:

an export declaration;
an export entry;
a customs export certificate; or
an equivalent document from the country of export.

KRA's summary gives 1 September 2026 as the start date for this requirement specifically, separate from the 1 July 2026 date that applies to most of the Act's other amendments. Shipments arriving from September onwards are the ones to watch.

KRA's page Finance Act 2026: what it means for you describes the import documentation requirement, its start date and the consequences of not producing the documents.

Five years of retention

KRA says these records must be kept for at least five years. That sits comfortably alongside other Kenyan record-keeping rules: the VAT Act, as published on Kenya Law, requires a full record of every transaction to be kept for five years from the date of the last entry, and that record expressly includes customs entries and purchase invoices.

In practice, treat the export document as part of the same file as the customs entry and the supplier's invoice, and keep the whole file for at least five years. If a dispute or an assessment is open, keep it longer. For how the various retention periods fit together, see a retention schedule for Kenyan businesses.

What is at stake

KRA is direct about the consequence. It warns that failure to produce satisfactory documentation may affect claims relating to the goods':

value;
origin;
ownership;
exemptions;
deductions; or
refunds.

Those are not small matters for an importer. Each of them can change how much duty and tax the business ends up bearing, and deductions and refunds affect the tax position long after the goods have been sold. A missing export document can turn a routine query into an expensive one.

What if a supplier cannot produce one of the listed documents? KRA's list ends with "or equivalent document", so ask the supplier what its own customs authority issues when goods leave. Keep a record of the request and the reply with the shipment file. If nothing suitable exists, take advice before relying on that shipment for an exemption or a refund.

Imports sit outside eTIMS

Importers sometimes ask whether these goods need an eTIMS invoice. KRA's list of business costs excluded from the eTIMS invoice requirement includes imports, along with items such as salaries, airline tickets and bank charges.

Instead, the customs entry does the work. KRA says input VAT on imports can be claimed on validated customs import entries whose status is settled or removed. The export document now joins that customs entry as part of the evidence for the shipment. How the VAT claim works is covered in claiming VAT paid at customs on imports.

Filing the documents with the bill in Achekam's Document Centre

The simplest system is one place per shipment where every document lives together.

In Achekam, a business records supplier bills line by line, with VAT. A bill raised without a purchase order waits for approval before it posts, which is a natural moment to confirm the paperwork is complete, and bills can be paid in full or in parts.

Document Centre then holds the evidence. It is a folder-based store where a business uploads files or whole folders, previews, downloads, renames, moves, tags, archives and searches them. A new version keeps the earlier ones, so a corrected export certificate does not overwrite the first. A structure that works:

one folder per shipment, named with the supplier and the bill number;
the supplier's invoice, packing list and bill of lading;
the export declaration, export entry or customs export certificate;
the Kenyan customs entry and proof of duty and VAT paid;
the clearing agent's invoice.

Tag each folder with the year, so the five-year retention can be checked at a glance.

A checklist for overseas suppliers

Send this to every supplier who ships to you, and add it to your purchase order terms:

Name the document. Ask for the export declaration, export entry or customs export certificate issued in their country for each shipment.
Set the timing. Ask for a copy with the shipping documents, not weeks after arrival.
Match the shipment. The document should match your invoice and packing list for the same goods.
Keep it readable. Ask for clear electronic copies you can store.
Name a contact. Agree who at the supplier answers questions if KRA queries a shipment.

The broader set of Finance Act 2026 changes is in Finance Act 2026: changes for Kenyan businesses.

Start with your next shipment: request the export document before the goods leave, and file it in the shipment folder the day it arrives.

General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.