Land lock country issues

[Kishan Barai]

Questions for Experts :

Suppose I export goods to Rwanda, shipment has to be done at Mombasa port (Kenya), so shall the import place in invoice would be Kenya or Rwanda ?

Rwanda person does hold the official business in Rwanda only, so in commercial invoice what should be mentioned at Final Destination ? & Can a Rwanda person can do custom clearance from Kenya without any business or license in Kenya ?

Please enlighten......

[Rajagopalan Ranganathan]

Sir,

If there exists Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty between Rwanda and Kenya , then Kenya may allow the imported goods imported by Rwanda through its territory without payment of customs duty. Otherwise customs duty is to be paid on reaching Mombasa as per Kenyan Laws and then again as Rwandan Laws on reaching Rwanda. This will be like goods imported by Nepal are allowed to be discharged at Calcutta Port and allowed to pass through Indian Territory. I do not know whether any customs duty is levied by the Indian Authorities. There is some treaty between India and Nepal to allow them free of duty. . The invoice should be addressed to the importer at Rwanda and destination port should be mentioned as Mombasa (Kenya). This is my opinion.

[DR.MARIAPPAN GOVINDARAJAN]

I endorse the views of Shri Ranganathan

AI Summary

Transshipment customs treatment: treaty-based transit may avoid host-country duties; absent treaty duties may arise at transshipment port.
For goods shipped via Mombasa to Rwanda, if a bilateral transit or customs agreement exists Kenya may allow passage without imposing customs duty; otherwise Kenyan duties apply at Mombasa and Rwandan duties on import into Rwanda. The commercial invoice should be addressed to the importer in Rwanda while listing Mombasa (Kenya) as the destination port.