Nairobi, Sept. 3 -- A directive by President William Ruto for the minimum customs charge for containerised consolidated cargo to be lowered back to the old cap of Sh2 million has triggered a fresh challenge for the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), which is already under pressure to improve collections and streamline customs administration.

The President on Wednesday ordered the reduction of the customs benchmark from Sh3.2 million to Sh2 million, pushing it even lower than the Sh2.5 million that had been in place over the last six years before the KRA reviewed it upwards, sparking protests by small traders.

Insiders said that the directive is expected to pile pressure on KRA because customs collections are a key driver of domestic revenue...