Sarpah/Compliance/KEPHIS Phytosanitary Regime
Regulatory standard

KEPHIS Phytosanitary Regime

Plant Protection Act Cap 324; ISPM-12

Compliance
Compliance & Settlement StandardURDG 758UCP 600Standby Letters of Credit & ISP98WTO TFAKEBS Pre-Export Verification of ConformityKEPHIS Phytosanitary RegimeKenya Fertilizer Regulatory FrameworkKRA Customs & EAC CETKenya Tax RegimeSanctions, AML & KYC

KEPHIS — Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service

KEPHIS is established under the KEPHIS Act, No. 54 of 2012 and is Kenya's National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) under the IPPC (International Plant Protection Convention).

Statutory Architecture

  • KEPHIS Act 2012 (Act No. 54 of 2012)
  • Plant Protection Act, Cap 324
  • Plant Protection (Import and Export) Regulations, 2021 — operationalises Cap 324 import-permit, phytosanitary-certificate and inspection requirements
  • Suppression of Noxious Weeds Act, Cap 325
  • Seeds and Plant Varieties Act, Cap 326
  • Pest Control Products Act, Cap 346 (PCPB regime)

KEPHIS portal: https://www.kephis.go.ke

Phytosanitary Import Process

For every regulated plant-derived commodity entering Kenya — wheat, maize, rice, barley, oats, soybeans, peas, rapeseed, sunflower seed, sawn timber, plywood, biological products — the following sequence applies:

  1. KEPHIS Import Permit — issued via the KEPHIS Online Permit System (https://kephisonline.kephis.go.ke) in advance of shipment. Validity: typically 90 days
  2. Phytosanitary Certificate — issued by the National Plant Protection Organisation of the country of export (Rosselkhoznadzor for Russia; State Plant Quarantine Service for Kazakhstan; State Inspection for Plant Quarantine for Belarus). Issued before sailing per IPPC ISPM 12; current practice within ~14 days of vessel departure to satisfy KEPHIS recency expectations on arrival
  3. Plant import declaration lodged at port of entry
  4. Inspection on arrival by KEPHIS plant inspectors at Mombasa, ICD Embakasi or land border. Sampling rate per KEPHIS protocol
  5. Fumigation Certificate where required by the import permit (typically all bulk grain). Methyl bromide or phosphine treatment at the loadport or in-transit; certified by a licensed fumigator

For seed (regulated separately under the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act): variety must be on the Kenya National Variety List or covered by a special import permit; ISTA (International Seed Testing Association) certificate; KEPHIS seed-quality re-test on arrival.

Mineral Fertilizer Is Not in KEPHIS Scope

A common compliance error is the assumption that fertilizer is regulated by KEPHIS. It is not. Mineral fertilizer (urea, DAP, NPK, MOP, SOP, CAN, MAP, ammonium sulphate, ammonium nitrate) is regulated by:

  • The Fertilizers and Animal Foodstuffs Act, Cap 345, administered through the Ministry of Agriculture / State Department for Agriculture, with operational regulation by the Fertilizer and Animal Foodstuffs Board (FAFB) created by the 2015 Amendment.
  • KEBS under the KS 158 and KS 1900-series standards.
  • Pest Control Products Board (PCPB) under the Pest Control Products Act Cap 346 — but only for fertilizer products containing biocidal or pesticidal additives.

Pure mineral fertilizer is registered with FAFB under Cap 345 and conforms to the relevant KS standard; no KEPHIS permit applies. Organic fertilizers, biofertilizers, microbial inoculants (rhizobium, mycorrhizal products) are in KEPHIS scope because biological material is regulated under the Plant Protection Act.

Required Documents — Plant-Derived Commodities

For a wheat, maize, rice, barley or oilseed cargo discharging Mombasa:

DocumentIssuerNotes
KEPHIS Import PermitKEPHISLodged in advance; 90-day validity
Phytosanitary CertificateOrigin NPPO (Rosselkhoznadzor / etc.)Issued before sailing per IPPC ISPM 12; current practice within ~14 days of vessel departure to satisfy KEPHIS recency expectations on arrival
Fumigation CertificateLicensed fumigator at loadportMethyl bromide or phosphine
Certificate of OriginOrigin Chamber of CommerceSanctions, tariff treatment
KEBS Certificate of ConformityKEBS PVoC partnerQuality conformity
COAOrigin laboratoryQuality vs SPA
Weight CertificateIndependent surveyorSettlement quantity
Insurance CertificateUnderwriter110% CIF
B/L (3/3 originals)CarrierTitle
Commercial invoice + packing listBeneficiaryCustoms

How Sarpah Supports

The buyer is the importer of record under Cap 324 and Cap 346, and lodges the KEPHIS Online Permit on its own account. For plant-derived commodities, Sarpah:

  • Introduces buyers to producers whose origin NPPO documentation is routinely IPPC-compliant
  • Coordinates with the buyer's clearing agent so the KEPHIS permit is in place before the vessel sails
  • Verifies the phytosanitary certificate at the loadport against the KEPHIS permit specification
  • Confirms fumigation treatment matches the permit specification
  • Stays close to KEPHIS plant-inspector arrival at Mombasa with KPA berth allocation
  • Supports the buyer's clearing agent through any KEPHIS sampling-and-test cycle in coordination with KEBS surveillance and KRA risk-management routing

For biofertilizer and microbial cargoes (rare in current corridor flow), full KEPHIS engagement at registration stage is required before any shipment is initiated; this is the buyer's process and Sarpah introduces and supports.

Sources

  • KEPHIS Act 2012 — http://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/Acts/KenyaPlantHealthInspectorateServiceAct2012.pdf
  • Plant Protection Act, Cap 324
  • IPPC ISPM 7 (export certification system) and ISPM 12 (phytosanitary certificates) — https://www.ippc.int
  • KEPHIS Online Permit System — https://kephisonline.kephis.go.ke