This is courtesy of the Kenya Revenue Authority’s new Advance Cargo Declaration (ACD) platform, a digital system covering every container headed for Kenya’s ports. In its notice dated 14 July, the KRA’s Commissioner for Customs and Border Control made it official: the platform opens 3rd August, and everyone in the chain (importers, exporters, shipowners, carriers, shipping agents, customs brokers) needs to pay attention.

Most Kenyan importers will notice less the tech and more the switch in responsibility. The key change? The declaration must be handled before loading, shifting compliance upstream to your supplier or their forwarder. Suddenly, your risk sits in a different country, in someone else’s office, and there’s a good chance they haven’t clocked this yet.

This is what you need to tackle now.

What’s Required for the ACD?

According to the KRA, exporters shipping to Kenya must visit acd.kra.go.ke and get an ACD reference code at the point of loading. You receive this code after uploading four documents:

• Draft Bill of Lading

• Commercial Invoice

• Freight Invoice

• Export Declaration

Once you’ve got the code, it needs to be endorsed on the Bill of Lading before your cargo leaves for Kenya.

Here’s the critical number: your declaration must be validated at least five days before the vessel touches Kenyan waters. That validated declaration is then presented for customs clearance when your cargo arrives.

In short: four documents, one code, one endorsement at origin, and a five-day window to validation.

Don’t be fooled: it’s not five days from your desk in Nairobi. It’s five days before arrival in Kenya, with all documents uploaded and validated by someone at origin, possibly operating on a timeline you’ve never seen. On a quick trip from Jebel Ali, you might have room to breathe. But if your paperwork usually chases your booking, those five days can disappear before your draft Bill of Lading is even ready.

So, work backwards from the vessel’s ETA. Ask your supplier if their normal document process clears this hurdle, because up until now, nobody had a reason to check.

Why Sequence Matters More Than Paperwork

Traditionally, Kenyan imports were cleared with documents submitted after shipment: often when the vessel was close to, or already at, port. Errors would crop up late, just as demurrage starts piling up and your clearing agent is scrambling for amendments.

The ACD changes all that. KRA now gets cargo details before the vessel arrives, allowing for early risk checks and faster releases for compliant importers. If you’re not ready, the problem hits at the origin. Your goods simply don’t ship.

Either way, it’s more efficient. But adjusting is the real test.

Let’s break it down:

• Draft Bill of Lading: Managed by the carrier or freight forwarder, based on exporter info. You rarely see it before booking.

• Commercial Invoice: Always with your supplier. You negotiate this directly.

• Freight Invoice: Typically with your supplier’s forwarder or carrier. If you buy on FOB or EXW terms, your visibility is low.

• Export Declaration: Filled by your supplier with their local customs. You hardly ever see it.

Only the commercial invoice is routinely in your hands early. The rest are controlled by people you don’t employ, in a country you might never visit, filed with authorities you don’t deal with.

Here’s where things can go wrong: your supplier or their forwarder books the container, starts the paperwork as usual, and gets stumped when the line asks for a code no one’s heard of. At that point, your cargo sits idle.

Check Your Contracts: Who’s Actually Responsible?

In reality, exporters and freight forwarders are best placed to complete the ACD as they hold the right documents. But “best placed” isn’t the same as “contractually required.” Now’s the time to check which of your suppliers fit which category.

Start with your Incoterms. On EXW, you’re responsible for export formalities, which can be tricky if you’ve never logged into a portal at a foreign port. On FOB or CIF, the seller handles export clearance and should be the one generating the code.

KRA’s notice doesn’t mention Incoterms, but the lesson is familiar. When Kenya rolled out mandatory local Marine Cargo Insurance on 1 July 2026, the Shippers Council of Eastern Africa told importers to review their contracts and shift to terms that put control with the Kenyan buyer. Otherwise, you risk paying twice.

Different rule, same lesson: when obligations move, contracts decide who carries them. If you’re importing under EXW, talk to your supplier today.

Your Two-Week Action Plan

• Write to every overseas supplier shipping containers to Kenya. Name the platform (acd.kra.go.ke), the deadline (3rd August 2026), and list the four documents. Don’t assume their forwarder has briefed them.

• Get written confirmation that each supplier is registered on the ACD system and can generate the reference code.

• Review Incoterms on current orders. Identify who is responsible for the code by name.

• Ask your clearing agent how they’ll confirm the ACD code is on the Bill of Lading before shipping, not after.

• Identify all shipments with a loading date on or after 3 August. These are your first exposures under the new rule.

• Confirm the process with every supplier: code at loading, code on the Bill of Lading, declaration validated at least five days before arrival, validated declaration at clearance. A code that isn’t endorsed on the Bill of Lading doesn’t count.

• For each shipment, work backwards from ETA in Kenya to make sure your supplier’s document timeline fits the five-day rule.

• Add two columns to your shipment tracker: ACD reference code and validation date. If you don’t track them, they’ll be missed.

• Agree in advance with your supplier what happens if the code is delayed or rejected. Decide now: wait, or airfreight?

What’s Next? The Bigger Picture

The ACD is part of a bigger shift. Alongside the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS), the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS), and the Kenya TradeNet Single Window, it signals Kenya’s drive to modernise customs. The goal is clear: digital, pre-arrival risk management that keeps Kenya at the heart of East and Central African trade.

The pattern across these systems is the same: information moves earlier, and accuracy at origin is everything. For importers, this means your relationship with your supplier carries more compliance weight than ever. Paperwork that once landed at Mombasa now lands at origin, on a schedule you don’t control.

The importers who navigate August smoothly won’t be the lucky ones. They’ll be the ones who spent July calling their suppliers, checking their paperwork, and planning ahead for the shipment that couldn’t wait.

If you’re shipping internationally from Kenya, a DHL Express business account gives you door-to-door delivery across 220 countries, competitive rates that grow with your volume, and customs expertise on every shipment, so you can focus on your business, not on Friday paperwork emergencies.

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