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IMPACT OF ADOPTION OF CUSTOMS ELECTRONIC PROCEDURES BY CLEARING AND FORWARDING AGENTS IN NAIROBI, KENYA.

The purpose of this study was to establish the extent to which Clearing and Forwarding agents in Nairobi have adopted Customs Electronic Procedures. Specific objectives were to determine the extent to which Clearing and Forwarding agents have adopted Customs Electronic Procedures; identify the challenges of adopting Customs Electronic procedures as well as establish how the adoption of Customs Electronic Procedures has facilitated trade. This study used a descriptive survey method, in finding out how electronic lodgment of Customs entries affects trade facilitation. The target population of this research consisted of 350 clearing and forwarding firms based in Nairobi out of the 962 licensed in Kenya. This study used stratified sampling technique, which was appropriate in coming up with a sample for the study. This is because the population to be studied is heterogeneous. Stratified random sampling technique was considered for each clearing and forwarding company, since each company is unique with its own characteristics. The researcher used both primary and secondary sources of information to collect the data. The secondary data was obtained from company profiles and records from Customs department. Primary sources entailed the use of semi-structured questionnaires comprising of both open-ended and closed-ended questions completed by target respondents in the clearing and forwarding sector of the economy. The data collected from the field was both qualitative and quantitative. The data was then checked for consistency, completeness and usefulness. This entailed edits in the field, data results validation and central editing. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. vi The study revealed that Customs electronic procedures have a great impact on the organizations. They have been forced to have an IT system with internet connectivity. Customs electronic procedures were found to have drastically reduced the average lodgment time, as well the clearance time and lodgment cost. Customs customer service was also found to have improved. The main challenges experienced in adopting Customs electronic procedures was found to be inadequacy of relevant skills to sustain the system, financial constraints and unfriendliness of the system. On areas that need improvement, most respondents cited infrastructure in order to reduce down time and inaccessibility.

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Author: kwalia, owen kesino
Contributed by: nabwire barbara
Institution: university of nairobi
Level: university
Sublevel: post-graduate
Type: dissertations