International transit
Kenya Customs Transit Bonds and Guarantees
A transit bond is the security that lets goods whose duty is suspended cross Kenya. Understanding what it secures, and what closes it, is what keeps a transit movement from becoming a tax assessment.
What a transit bond is for
When goods move across Kenya without the duties being collected, the revenue authority is carrying a risk: that the goods never leave, and are instead sold into the Kenyan market with no tax paid. A bond or guarantee covers that risk. It is a financial undertaking that the suspended duties will be paid if the transit procedure is not properly completed.
The bond is not a fee. It is security, and in the ordinary course it is released once the goods are confirmed to have exited.
The regional bond
Historically, cargo crossing several East African countries needed security in each. Under the East African Community's Single Customs Territory arrangements, a single regional bond can cover the movement across partner states, with the cargo monitored by electronic cargo tracking.
That matters on a Mombasa to Juba movement, because the road leg crosses Uganda before reaching South Sudan. Which arrangement applies to a specific consignment depends on its routing and declaration, and we confirm it per shipment rather than assuming.
Who provides the bond
In practice the bond is executed through a licensed clearing agent, backed by a bank or insurance guarantee. Three consequences follow for you as the cargo owner:
- Your agent needs capacity. A bond covers a value. An agent whose facility is fully committed cannot lodge your movement, whatever they say about availability.
- Bond costs are real costs. Guarantee fees belong in your landed cost calculation.
- The agent carries exposure on your cargo. Expect them to be careful about routing, seals and timelines. That caution is in your interest too.
What closes the bond
The procedure is discharged when the goods are confirmed to have exited Kenya at the declared office of exit, within the time allowed, with seals intact and the tracking record clean.
Things that prevent discharge:
- Goods not exiting within the permitted period
- Deviation from the approved route
- Seal or tracking device interference
- A consignment with more or fewer pieces than the declaration says
- Documentation that doesn't reconcile at the exit point
Chase the discharge. An undischarged bond is an open liability that can surface long after the cargo has been delivered and forgotten.
Practical advice
- Record seal numbers at every handover and photograph them
- Keep the exit documentation; do not assume the agent's file is enough
- Ask explicitly, in writing, for confirmation that the bond has been discharged
- Do not agree to any change of destination or delivery point part way through the movement without raising it with customs first. A commercial convenience can become a customs offence.
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Before you rely on this page
This page is published as general guidance for people shipping cargo to South Sudan. It is not legal advice and it isn't customs advice. Duty rates, fees, permits and procedures are set by the authorities named above and they change. South Sudan sets its tax and duty rates in an annual Financial Act, so what applies to your goods depends on the date they are entered.
We don't publish duty rates, penalty amounts or clearance fees that we cannot tie to a current official source. Where a figure matters to your costing, confirm it with the relevant authority or ask us to check it for your specific goods and HS code before you ship.