Customs Clearance
Customs delays cost time and money. Our KRA-licensed agents handle: ✓ Import/export documentation ✓ Duty assessment ✓ Inspection coordination ✓ Regulatory compliance Most clearances: 2–5 business days. No surprises. No delays.
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overview
Customs clearance is often the slowest point in freight movement. Most brokers wait for cargo to arrive at port before starting paperwork. By then, inspection queues are weeks long.
Result: Your cargo sits at port. Daily fees pile up. Production schedules slip.
Trevart integrates customs clearance with freight movement from day one.
Our role is different: customs isn't a separate service for us. It's coordinated alongside your sea freight, air freight, or road freight.
How We Plan Operations
HOW CUSTOMS CLEARANCE WORKS (Integrated Approach)
Step 1: Paperwork Starts in Transit While your sea freight is traveling (or air cargo is flying), we start KRA customs work:
Commercial documents reviewed for accuracy
HS codes verified (commodity classification)
Duty amounts calculated
KRA pre-clearance paperwork filed
Inspection slots pre-booked with KRA officials
Step 2: Cargo Arrives Your cargo lands at port. Customs doesn't start NOW—it's 80% done already.
Step 3: Inspection Scheduled Most shipments get "light and count" inspection (2-4 hours):
Why? Paperwork is complete (no errors to discover)
Inspection is pre-booked (scheduled appointment, not queue-waiting)
Our 15+ year KRA relationships mean inspectors know and prioritize us
Step 4: Cargo Cleared Inspection passes. Cargo released. Loaded on truck for inland delivery.
Timeline: 1 week total from port arrival to delivery (vs. industry 3-4 weeks)
DOCUMENT REVIEW & KRA PRE-CLEARANCE
Customs planning happens before cargo arrives, not after.
Planning process:
Receive commercial documents (invoices, bills of lading, packing lists)
Review for accuracy and completeness
Identify HS codes for each commodity
Calculate estimated duties
File KRA pre-clearance paperwork
Contact KRA inspectors to pre-book inspection slot
Confirm inspection appointment (date and time)
This front-end work prevents delays and errors at inspection.
How We Execute Services
INSPECTION COORDINATION & CARGO RELEASE
Customs inspection is where most brokers fail. We excel here.
Execution:
Cargo arrives at port
Customs notified of pre-booked inspection appointment
Cargo moved to inspection facility
Inspector (same person we've worked with for years) conducts inspection
Usually 2-4 hours for "light and count"
No delays because paperwork is complete
Inspector familiar with our shipments—fast turnaround
Inspection passes (no errors because we caught them earlier)
KRA issues clearance certificate
Cargo released from customs control
No queue-waiting. No re-submissions. Cargo flows through.
How We Deliver Results
CLEARANCE & DOWNSTREAM COORDINATION
Once cleared, cargo moves to delivery.
Process:
Clearance certificate issued
Cargo released from port authority custody
Loaded on inland truck
Delivered to your location (Nairobi 2-3 days, regional 3-5 days)
Delivery confirmed with customer signature
You get notification at each step: inspection scheduled, inspection complete, cargo cleared, truck dispatched, delivered.
Final Results
CUSTOMS CLEARANCE TIMELINE
Standard Broker (No Pre-Clearance) | Header 2 |
|---|---|
Day 1: Cargo arrives at port | Day 1: Commercial invoice received, paperwork starts |
Day 1-3: Waiting for inspection slot (queue backlog, inspectors busy) | Day 1-25: (In transit) Paperwork filed, inspection pre-booked |
Day 3-7: Inspection finally happens (paperwork errors discovered) | Day 25: Cargo arrives, 80% complete Day |
Day 7-14: Re-submission & corrections filed | Day 25-26: Pre-booked inspection (2-4 hours, light inspection) |
Day 14-21: Second inspection scheduled | Day 26: Cleared, released for delivery |
Day 21-23: Re-inspection completed, finally cleared | Day 28-30: Delivered |
Day 23-26: Delivered | |
Timeline: 3-4 weeks clearance Demurrage (port holding fees): $100-200/day × 15-20 days = $1,500-4,000 | Timeline: 5-7 days clearance Demurrage: Minimal (1-2 days max) TIME SAVED: 14-21 DAYS |
