EAC CET 2022–2027 — HS Codes, Stays, and What Importers Actually Pay
Sarpah Insights — April 2026
The EAC Common External Tariff 2022 Edition is the operational tariff schedule for Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and the DRC. It came into force 1 July 2022 and runs through 2027. The 2022 CET introduced a fourth band — 35% — that did not exist in the previous schedule, and the annual EAC Pre-Budget Gazette Notices that modify the rates are the single most important tariff document Kenyan importers don't read.
This piece is the practical importer's guide.
The Four-Band Structure
| Band | Use |
|---|---|
| 0% | Raw materials, capital goods, agricultural inputs (incl. all mineral fertilizers, sawn softwood timber, petcoke not calcined, technical sulphur) |
| 10% | Intermediate goods (incl. crude sunflower oil, calcined petcoke) |
| 25% | Finished goods (incl. refined sunflower oil, plywood, chipboard, OSB) |
| 35% | Sensitive products (sugar, milk, certain oils, rice — many subject to Kenya stay-of-application) |
Fertilizer — All 0%
This is the simplest part. Mineral fertilizer enters Kenya at 0% import duty. The HS codes:
| Product | HS code |
|---|---|
| Urea (fertilizer use) | 3102.10.00 |
| Anhydrous ammonia | 2814.10.00 |
| Ammonium nitrate | 3102.30.00 |
| CAN | 3102.60.00 |
| Ammonium sulphate | 3102.21.00 |
| UAN | 3102.80.00 |
| MAP | 3105.40.00 |
| DAP | 3105.30.00 |
| MOP | 3104.20.00 |
| SOP | 3104.30.00 |
| NPK compound | 3105.20.00 |
Fertilizer is VAT exempt under the Finance Act 2025 (effective 1 July 2025) — same end-consumer effect as zero-rated, but the supplier cannot recover input VAT on freight, port handling and inspection services. Plus IDF 2.5%, RDL 2%. AFA Cess does not apply to fertilizer (AFA's directorates cover scheduled crops, not fertilizer; fertilizer regulation runs through the Fertilizers and Animal Foodstuffs Act Cap 345 administered through the Ministry of Agriculture / Fertilizer & Animal Foodstuffs Board, plus KEBS standards and KEPHIS for biological/organic inputs). Net Kenya-side levy stack on a $1m fertilizer cargo: ~4.5% (plus the input-VAT non-recoverability cost).
Where the Real Money Is — Stays of Application
The CET base rates above are modified by annual Gazette Notices issued each June by the EAC Secretariat and replicated in the Kenya Gazette in the first week of July. These "stays of application" change annually and define what importers actually pay.
The most operationally significant stays:
Wheat — base 35%, Kenya stayed at 10%
Kenya is structurally short of milling wheat. The Pre-Budget Gazette annually stays wheat duty at 10% (vs. the 35% base rate). The stay has been routinely renewed since 2022.
For wheat cargoes Sarpah introduces to Kenyan millers: HS 1001.99.10/.90, effective duty 10%, VAT zero-rated (unprocessed agricultural produce, Second Schedule, VAT Act 2013), plus IDF 2.5% and RDL 2%, plus AFA Cess on grain (1–4%, AFA Cereals Directorate). Effective Kenya-side levy on a wheat cargo: ~15.5–18.5%.
For the 2025/26 cycle, the 10% wheat duty remission is conditional on millers' prior local-wheat purchase under EAC Council direction; per-cargo eligibility verification is recommended against the buyer's Kenya wheat purchase log.
Maize — base 50% under Kenya stay (EAC base 25%)
Kenya routinely applies a 50% maize duty stay to protect domestic production. NCPB import waiver during gazetted deficit windows can reduce this to 0%. Episodic; cargo-by-cargo.
Rice — 35% or USD 200/MT, whichever higher
Kenya's rice stay is renewed annually. During severe deficit periods, 75% has been gazetted. Most cargoes pay the higher of 35% or USD 200/MT.
Sugar — 100% or USD 460/MT
The highest-protected commodity. Plus Sugar Development Levy 4% under Sugar Act 2024. Plus VAT 16%. Effective Kenya-side stack on Brazilian Icumsa-45: ~120%+. The KNTC framework is the operational pathway for sugar import; private-channel sugar is structurally constrained by the duty stack.
Edible Oils — sensitive list, complex stays
| Product | HS code | Base | Kenya stay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crude sunflower oil | 1512.11.00 | 10% | 10% (stayed) |
| Refined sunflower oil | 1512.19.00 | 25% | varies year-to-year |
| Crude palm oil | 1511.10.00 | 10% (EAC CET 2022) | stays vary year to year |
| Refined palm oil | 1511.90.00 | 25% (EAC CET 2022) | stays vary year to year |
The crude-vs-refined differential is the operational story: importing crude oil for domestic refining attracts substantially lower duty than importing the refined product. Bidco, Pwani, Kapa, Menengai all leverage this differential.
Wheat Flour — 60%
Kenya's stay protecting domestic milling. HS 1101.00.00 — 60% under Kenya stay. Imported wheat flour is structurally non-competitive vs domestic Unga, Pembe, Capwell-milled product.
Dry Milk — 60%
HS 0402.10 / 0402.21 — 60% sensitive list, plus VAT zero-rated under Second Schedule. The 60% duty makes dry milk import economics commercially specific to dry-season pricing arbitrage.
What Changes Each Year
The Pre-Budget Gazette is published in late June. Stays are typically renewed but can change. Sarpah verifies stays per cargo against the live Kenya Gazette — relying on prior-year stay rates for current cargoes is operational risk.
The 2025 Gazette confirmed:
- Wheat at 10% stayed
- Sugar at 100% / USD 460/MT plus Sugar Act 2024 levy 4%
- Refined sunflower oil at 25% (no stay)
- Wheat flour at 60%
- Maize at 50% with NCPB waiver provision
- Rice at 35% or USD 200/MT
Other Levies on the Stack
In addition to import duty:
- IDF — 2.5% of CIF; minimum KES 5,000
- RDL — 2.0% of CIF
- AFA Cess — 1–4% on scheduled crops in the AFA directorates' scope (cereals, sugar, tea, coffee, horticulture, nuts, oil crops, fibre crops, food crops). Not levied on fertilizer. Fertilizer regulation runs through Cap 345 / Fertilizer & Animal Foodstuffs Board, KEBS standards and KEPHIS for organic inputs.
- Sugar Development Levy — 4% of CIF (sugar only), administered by Kenya Sugar Board under the Sugar Act 2024
- Wharfage / KPA tariff — variable
- Standards Levy — 0.2% ex-factory (local manufacture only)
- ACA Levy — 0.25% on registered IPR goods (branded only)
- VAT — 16% standard / 0% zero-rated / exempt per VAT Act Schedule
Indicative Total Levy Stack on Sarpah Cargoes (CIF basis)
| Cargo | Import duty | VAT | IDF | RDL | AFA Cess | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fertilizer (urea, DAP, NPK, MOP) | 0% | exempt¹ | 2.5% | 2% | – | ~4.5% |
| Milling wheat | 10% (stayed) | 0% (zero-rated) | 2.5% | 2% | 1–4% (grain) | ~15.5–18.5% |
| Crude palm oil | 10% (stayed) | 16% | 2.5% | 2% | – | ~30.5% |
| Refined sunflower oil | 25% | 16% | 2.5% | 2% | 1–4% (oil crops) | ~46.5–49.5% |
| Brazilian Icumsa-45 sugar | 100% | 16% | 2.5% | 2% | 4% (SDL) | ~125% |
| Sawn softwood timber | 0% | 16% | 2.5% | 2% | – | ~20.5% |
| Plywood | 25% | 16% | 2.5% | 2% | – | ~45.5% |
| Petcoke (non-calcined) | 0% | 16% | 2.5% | 2% | – | ~20.5% |
¹ Fertilizer is VAT exempt under Finance Act 2025 (effective 1 July 2025). Same end-consumer outcome as zero-rated, but the importer's input VAT on freight and services is no longer recoverable, raising effective landed cost by 1–2 percentage points relative to the prior zero-rated regime.
Approximate. Specific cargo-level computation depends on exact HS classification, applicable stays of application, and whether VAT is recoverable downstream.
The Operational Implication
The CET stack tells you which cargoes work commercially and which don't.
- Fertilizer — the cleanest economics. 0% duty, zero-rated VAT
- Wheat — viable with the 10% Kenya stay; without the stay, structurally constrained
- Refined edible oils — viable but margin-tight; crude-import-and-domestic-refine is the dominant strategy
- Sugar — KNTC framework only or Sugar Act 2024 windows; private-channel structurally non-competitive at 125% landed cost
- Plywood / OSB — 25% duty makes pricing competitive only against high-value end uses
- Petcoke — 0% duty is the structural advantage for cement-major buyers
Action for Importers
- Pull the 2025 Kenya Gazette Pre-Budget Notice for stays applicable to your cargo. Verify against KRA's tariff lookup tool
- Build the cargo-specific levy stack before SPA execution; never rely on prior-year rates
- AEO status delivers fast-track release that materially reduces port-cost exposure on duty-heavy cargoes
- VAT recoverability matters — for downstream-resold zero-rated cargoes, input VAT is fully recoverable; for processed-product cargoes, the input-output VAT chain matters
This piece references the EAC CET 2022 Edition published by the EAC Secretariat, the annual Kenya Gazette Pre-Budget Notices, and the Tax Laws (Amendment) Act 2024 / Finance Act 2025 schedules. For the underlying KRA Customs and EAC CET reference, see the Sarpah KRA Customs page.