The taxman collected a record KSh92.53 billion in July, the highest monthly collection for the authority, signaling a strong start for the government in the new fiscal year.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Kenya Revenue Authority's customs and border control department said July performance surpassed the set monthly target of KSh86.16 billion by 7.4 percent.

Additionally, July revenue inflow represented a 15.3 percent jump from the KSh80.29 billion realised during a similar month last year. In 2026, the taxman collected KSh89.1 billion in June, a highlight in the department's monthly performance.

During the month under focus, revenue from non-oil trade hit KSh61.5 billion, crossing the KSh60 billion mark for the first time in history.

This figure suggests the market is experiencing strong import volumes of both consumer and industrial goods, though KRA did not disclose the prime movers of this upswing.

KRA's customs department collected KSh988.78 billion in the 2025/26 fiscal year, exceeding its KSh980.79 billion target by a margin of 100.8 percent.

The annual collection represented a 12.4 percent increase from the previous year's KSh879.33 billion, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth and bringing cumulative customs revenue over the period to over KSh4.1 trillion.

Import duties

Non-oil taxes, which include import duties, value-added tax on imports, and other levies, rose 14.3 per cent to KSh618.4 billion during the 2025/26 financial year, while oil taxes increased 9.5 per cent to KSh370.38 billion.

The road maintenance levy, import declaration fees, railway development levy and excise duty on imports were among the key contributors.

Customs exceeded its monthly targets in eight of the 12 months during the 2025/26 financial year, including July, September, October, December, February, March, May and June.

The revenue authority has attributed the performance to a series of reforms implemented over the past year. These include the deployment of body-worn cameras for customs officers at verification stations, airports, and border points, as well as the rollout of an eCustoms mobile application designed to reduce compliance costs for cross-border traders.

Additionally, KRA signed a memorandum of understanding with India's Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs to enable real-time electronic exchange of pre-arrival cargo information. 

The authority is also upgrading its Integrated Customs Management System and planning to adopt the Trade Logistics Information Pipeline, a blockchain-enabled digital platform designed to reduce paperwork and improve cargo visibility.

The authority noted that businesses certified under the Authorised Economic Operator programme contributed 28 percent of total customs taxes collected during the 2025/26 financial year, up from previous years, suggesting that trusted trader arrangements are becoming a more significant component of revenue collection.

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