Why Somalia must make customs reform work across every major gateway to benefit from the EAC
By Anas Ali Dahir, MAPPM
Executive Director, East Africa Association for Research and Development (DAD) | University Lecturer
A shipment entering Somalia through Mogadishu, Kismayo or Bosaso should face predictable customs rules. Its classification, valuation and charges should not depend on which port receives it. That is the practical meaning of a national customs territory—and a test Somalia must pass if it is to make full use of East African Community membership.
Somalia became the EAC’s eighth full member on 4 March 2024, joining a market of more than 300 million people. Membership creates a larger regional opportunity, but it cannot by itself make trade cheaper or more predictable. The EAC Customs Union rests on common rules for trade among members and a Common External Tariff for imports from outside the bloc. Somalia’s ability to participate effectively depends on how consistently its own gateways apply and exchange customs information.¹
The reforms already under way
Somalia is not starting from zero. A harmonised national tariff schedule and regulations on customs reference values and declarations have established a foundation for reform. The Somalia Customs Administration System, known as SOMCAS, has been operational at Mogadishu’s seaport and airport. Earlier IMF reporting described partial implementation in Kismayo and a pause in the rollout at Bosaso and Garowe. A 2026 World Bank review recognises the legal and regulatory progress while continuing to identify fragmented administration across major ports as a constraint.² ³
That distinction matters. Passing national measures and installing software at one gateway are real achievements. Applying the same rules reliably across gateways—and allowing federal and state authorities to trust the resulting data and revenue accounts—is the harder task. The available sources do not establish that every major port now uses SOMCAS to the same extent.
Different practices can create incentives to route shipments according to the most favourable classification or valuation. They also make it harder for traders to estimate costs and for authorities to protect revenue. A customs union works best when a country can present one coherent, verifiable system at its external borders.
A federal agreement that can be implemented
Customs reform is also a question of fiscal federalism. Trade-related revenue matters to public budgets, while the Federal Government and Federal Member States have distinct interests in authority, collection and allocation. The World Bank has called for customs and tax harmonisation alongside agreed revenue-sharing arrangements across the federation. A durable solution must therefore be negotiated, transparent and workable for the authorities that operate the gateways.⁴
Somalia should pursue a National Customs Compact between the Federal Government and Federal Member States. It would not need to erase the role of individual port authorities. It would establish the rules by which they operate as parts of one national system:
- A shared legal and operating framework for classification, valuation, declarations, exemptions and appeal procedures, aligned over time with EAC obligations.
- A phased SOMCAS rollout with common data standards, secure exchange and independently checked functionality at major seaports, airports and land crossings.
- Joint risk management, post-clearance audit and investigation procedures that target evasion without delaying every legitimate shipment.
- A published, auditable agreement on how customs receipts are recorded, reconciled and shared across levels of government.
- A standing federal–state customs forum to settle implementation disputes and review progress, alongside regular consultation with traders, clearing agents, transporters and port operators.
These are proposals for negotiation, not institutions or agreements that the evidence shows are already in place. Sequencing also matters: begin with shared tariff and valuation practice, test it across the principal ports, reconcile transaction and revenue records, and expand the approach as capacity and trust grow.
Judge the reform at the port
Technology will not resolve differences in law, valuation practice or accountability on its own. If the same goods receive different treatment at different gateways, digitalisation will merely make the inconsistency faster.
The test is concrete. When comparable goods enter through Mogadishu, Kismayo or Bosaso, do officials use the same classification and valuation rules? Can traders see applicable charges before arrival? Are declarations processed and records exchanged electronically? Can federal and state authorities reconcile the transaction and the revenue it generated?
If the answers still depend on the port, Somalia has more work to do before its gateways function as one customs territory. Progress should be published through measures traders can check: the share of declarations processed through a common system, differences in treatment of comparable imports, clearance times, appeals resolved and revenue reconciled across authorities.
The case for reform reaches beyond EAC compliance. Consistent customs rules can protect public revenue, reduce uncertainty for businesses and strengthen confidence in federal cooperation. Somalia has laid part of the foundation. Its next achievement must be to make that foundation work, predictably and fairly, at every major gateway.
One country can have many customs gates. It needs one coherent set of rules behind them.
Sources
1. East African Community, membership and Customs Union: https://www.eac.int/ ; https://www.eac.int/abouteacat25/eachistoryat25
2. IMF, Somalia HIPC Completion Point assessment, December 2023: https://www.imf.org/-/media/Files/Publications/CR/2023/English/1SOMEA2023004.ashx
3. World Bank, Somalia Inclusive Growth DPF Implementation Completion and Results Report, June 2026: https://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099062526171024961/pdf/BOSIB-25285cc4-0665-4354-8ccb-f5c20e3e1d9c.pdf
4. World Bank, Rebuilding Somalia, November 2024: https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2024/11/22/rebuilding-afe-somalia-renewing-social-contract-in-a-fragile-state-amidst-revenue-challenges