The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) collected KES 90.053 billion in customs revenue in September, beating its Treasury target by KES 965 million and growing 5.8% on the same month last year, according to a statement issued on October 12.
The table below shows how the month stacked up.
| Measure | KES billion | Result |
| September 2026 collection | 90.053 | 101.1% of target |
| Treasury target | 89.088 | Beaten by 0.965 |
| September 2025 collection | 85.146 | Up 5.8% |
The target had assumed growth of about 4.6% from last year, so KRA cleared the bar by a little over a percentage point, a modest cushion rather than a runaway win.
Non-oil revenue accounted for most of the September performance, bringing in KES 57.199 billion against a target of KES 55.422 billion and making up about 64% of the month’s total.
All other collections stood at KES 32.854 billion against a target of KES 33.666 billion, a shortfall of KES 812 million that the non-oil surplus more than offset.
| Category | Collected (KES bn) | Target (KES bn) | Difference |
| Non-oil revenue | 57.199 | 55.422 | +1.778 |
| Everything else* | 32.854 | 33.666 | -0.812 |
| Total | 90.053 | 89.088 | +0.965 |
*Calculated from the KRA’s totals.
Imports grew far faster than revenue in September, with the overall value of imports rising 25.6% against growth of 5.8% in customs revenue, a gap of 19.8 percentage points.
| Indicator | Growth, Sept 2026 |
| Value of bulk cargo imports | 49.2% |
| Total value of imports | 25.6% |
| Containerised cargo (TEUs) | 8.2% |
| Imported motor vehicles | 8.1% |
| Customs revenue collected | 5.8% |
Bulk cargo, led by fertilizers, iron and steel, palm oil, and rice, grew fastest, and goods like these often carry lower duty rates or exemptions, which could explain why a jump in import value produced a much smaller gain in revenue.
KRA says it is also rolling out reforms to make customs clearance more efficient and predictable for traders, among them the new Advance Cargo Declaration and wider use of data to spot high-risk consignments, alongside tighter enforcement against illicit trade.
The September figures show a customs office that met its target in a busy month for imports, with food, fertilizer, and industrial inputs arriving in larger volumes, even as the revenue gain stayed far smaller than the jump in trade.
