The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced a scheduled eight-hour maintenance shutdown of its Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS). The maintenance is scheduled to occur on Saturday, May 17, from 10 p.m. to Sunday, May 18, until 6 a.m.

The KRA issued a statement apologizing for any inconvenience, noting that the iCMS is essential for lodging import and export documents at ports throughout the country. The agency stated that the iCMS system would be unavailable to all users during the maintenance period.

Introduced on July 7, 2019, during former President Uhuru Kenyatta's second term, iCMS was designed as a modern, efficient platform to expedite cargo clearance using the latest technology. The system aimed to improve Kenya’s ease of doing business by streamlining pre-arrival processing and increasing the speed of cargo clearance. It also sought to reduce complexities associated with manual processes and multiple automation systems.

Upon full implementation, iCMS was intended to counter security threats through a risk management system, secure the trade chain, facilitate regional integration with other revenue administrations, and ensure cargo transparency by reducing human intervention. However, the system has faced multiple outages, significantly impacting the flow of goods within and outside Kenya. An outage in November 2024 at the Port of Mombasa resulted in substantial economic losses, highlighting the need for a reliable backup system.