The High Court has stopped the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) from impounding imported vehicles that dealers haven’t yet registered, at least for now. Dealers get a fresh 60-day window to comply before NTSA can move against them.
Justice Ngaah Jairus made the ruling after the Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK) sued NTSA over a December 2024 directive. That directive told dealers to register all imported vehicles by December 16, 2024, or risk having them seized and facing criminal charges.
What the Dealers Argued
CIAK said its members had operated the same way for years: import used vehicles from Japan and Dubai through Mombasa, clear them through customs and pay duty, then store them in showrooms unregistered until a buyer showed up. Registration happened at the point of sale, not before.
The association said registering vehicles immediately hurts business, since a car that sits unsold for months ends up with an older registration series even though it’s identical to newer stock. That makes it less attractive to buyers.
CIAK also argued NTSA was treating used-car dealers unfairly compared to franchise dealers selling new vehicles, who can hold stock and register later.
READ: Senate Scraps New NTSA Traffic Rules After Motorist Backlash
What the Court Decided
Justice Jairus sided with NTSA on the core legal question. He ruled that registration is a mandatory requirement under Sections 6(1) and 6(1A) of the Traffic Act, and no amount of long-standing practice can override that.
Years of NTSA looking the other way didn’t create a legal exemption for dealers.
However, the judge found NTSA’s process was unfair. The authority gave dealers just 7 days to comply, a window that included a weekend and a public holiday.
READ: High Court Halts NTSA Mandatory Vehicle Inspection for Private Car Owners
CIAK had met NTSA officials on December 10, 2024, and asked for three months to adjust, but got no response before the deadline hit.
The judge said this fell short of what the Constitution and the Fair Administrative Action Act require. Regulators can’t abruptly end a practice they’ve tolerated for years without giving people a fair chance to adjust.
As a result, NTSA is barred from impounding vehicles or prosecuting CIAK members over the missed December deadline until it issues a new notice and gives dealers at least 60 days to comply from the date of the judgment. After that period ends, NTSA can enforce the law as normal.
The court rejected the discrimination claim. It agreed with NTSA that used-car dealers and new-vehicle franchise dealers work under different customs rules.
New vehicles can sit in bonded warehouses with duty deferred until sale, while used imports enter the market only after duty has already been paid, so the two groups aren’t in the same legal position.
