Related documents
- Is amended by 24th Annual Supplement

LAWS OF KENYA
CROPS ACT
THE CROPS (TEA INDUSTRY) REGULATIONS
LEGAL NOTICE 97 OF 2020
- Published in Kenya Gazette Vol. CXXII—No. 97 on 29 May 2020
- Assented to on 29 May 2020
- Commenced on 29 May 2020
- [Revised by 24th Annual Supplement (Legal Notice 221 of 2023) on 31 December 2022]
Part I – PRELIMINARY
1. Citation
These Regulations may be cited as the Crops (Tea Industry) Regulations.2. Interpretation
In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—"auction" means a process of buying and selling tea by offering bids and selling it to the highest bidder through a physical or electronic system;"auction organizer' means a person, company or firm established for the purpose of organizing tea auctions in Kenya;"Authority" means the Agriculture and Food Authority established under section 3 of the Agriculture and Food Authority Act (Cap. 317);"broker" means a person or company or firm established for the purpose of negotiating the purchase or sale of tea between producers and buyers;"blending" means the process of mixing of teas of different or same grades to affect the flavour and characteristics of the tea for the purposes of packing and sale;"buyer" means a person, company or a firm engaged in acquiring made tea for re-sale in the local or export market, including export of imported tea;"black CTC tea" means tea derived exclusively, and produced by acceptable processes and includes oxidation (fermentation) and drying, from the leaves, buds and tender stems of varieties of the species Camellia Sinensis (linaeus), 0. Kuntze, known to be suitable for making tea for human consumption as a beverage;"Cabinet Secretary" means the Cabinet Secretary for the time being responsible for matters relating to Agriculture;"Certificate of Origin" means a document issued in a customs territory by a competent authority confirming the origin of tea product;"co-operative society" means a co-operative society registered under the Co-operative Societies Act (Cap. 490);"commercial tea nursery operator "means a person or firm who propagates not less than five thousand tea seedlings or planting material for sale;"County Executive Committee Member" means the County Executive Member for the time being responsible for matters relating to agriculture in the respective tea producing county;"County Government" shall have the meaning assigned to it under Article 176 of the Constitution;"cottage tea factory" means a tea factory limited company that manufactures high value specialty teas of not less than thirty-eight thousand five hundred kilograms of made tea and not more than four hundred thousand kilograms of made tea per annum;"cottage tea manufacture" mean the processing of not less than thirty-eight thousand five hundred kilograms of made tea and not more than four hundred thousand kilograms of made tea per annum;"commercial green leaf transporter" means a person, a firm or a corporate body contracted by a tea factory limited company to provide green leaf transport services from the farm or green leaf collection centre to the tea factory at a fee;"crops inspector" means a person appointed as an inspector in accordance with section 27 of the Act;"Directorate" means the Directorate established under the Agriculture and Food Authority Act (Cap. 317) for the time being responsible for matters related to tea;"electronic trading platform" means an information technology and/or digital or electronic system installed and/or established by an auction organizer for purposes of electronic buying and selling tea at the auction;"export" means to take tea or cause tea to be taken out of the Kenya customs territory or to an Export Processing Zone;"exporter" means a person, a firm, or a corporate body engaged in the business of blending, packaging and exporting of tea in bulk or in value added form;"tea factory limited company" means a person who operates a tea processing or manufacturing factory and sources green leaf from own tea farm(s) and from registered tea growers;"green leaf" means green leaf detached from tea plants but not dried or processed in any way and includes purple leaf;"Green Leaf Agreement" means an agreement for supply of green leaf between the tea grower and the tea factory limited company and the obligations thereof;"import" means to bring tea into or cause to be brought into the Kenya customs territory or to an Export Processing Zone;"importer" means a person, a firm, or a corporate body engaged in the business of importing tea into Kenya;"Kenya Standard 1927 Tea Packets and Containers" means the Kenya Standard or an equivalent standard, that specifies the requirements for tea packets and containers, applicable to tea packaging for retail in the form of tea bags, tea packets, instant tea and ready to drink containers or instant tea specifications or their recognized equivalent but does not include tea sacks;"licensee" means a person who holds a tea manufacturing licence issued under the Act;"licensing authority" means the Authority or the County Government as the case may be;"made tea" means the derivative from green leaf through a manufacturing process;"manufacture" means the mechanical or chemical processing and conversion of green tea leaf into made tea or other tea products and includes the packaging, labelling, distribution of tea and tea products for sale;"management agent" means any person that is appointed by a tea factory limited company through a specific management contract or agreement to perform or offer professional services other than company secretary services;"manufacturing licence" means a licence issued under the Act;"point of export" means a designated customs border point at which made tea is taken out of the Kenya customs territory or to an Export Processing Zone;"point of import" means a designated customs border point at which made tea is brought into the Kenya customs territory or to an Export Processing Zone, from any place outside Kenya;"plantation tea grower" means a person cultivating tea in parcels of land and who has own tea processing facility;"person" includes a firm, a company, an association, cooperative society or a corporate body;"producer" means a person who manufactures green leaf from smallholder tea growers or from own tea farms;"smallholder tea grower" means a grower cultivating tea in a parcel or parcels of land without own individual tea processing facility;"small holder tea factory limited company" means a tea factory collectively owned through shares by small holder tea growers;"specialty teas" means high value teas manufactured whole leaf, semi-aerated or non- aerated and includes green, purple, white, oolong and orthodox but does not include black curl tear and cut teas;"tea" means the plant botanically known as camellia sinensis and includes its seed, tea plants and the leaf, whether on the plant or detached therefrom, and in the latter case, whether green tea or manufactured tea;"tea factory" means a factory that processes and manufactures tea leaf into made tea;"tea grower" means any person who is cultivating tea in a parcel or parcels of land;"tea packer" any person who blends, brands and packs tea into packets or containers holding not more than ten kilograms of tea intended for sale locally or for export;"tea dealer" includes a tea transporter, warehouse operator, buyer, exporter, importer, broker, packer, manufacturer, management agent, marketing agent and auction organizer;"transit tea" means any consignment of tea transiting through Kenya's custom territory and is destined for another custom territory;"type of tea planted" means green leaf or purple leaf;"value addition" means improvements on made tea through flavouring, branding and packaging in not more than ten kilograms;"warehouse" means a premises used for the storage of made tea by a warehouseman; and"warehouseman" means a company which is in the business of storing tea in Kenya.3. Application
These Regulations shall apply with respect to tea produced and marketed in Kenya, and imported or exported into and out of Kenya.4. Object and purpose of these Regulations
Part II – REGISTRATION AND LICENSING PROVISIONS
5. Registration of a commercial tea nursery
6. Registration of a tea grower
7. Double registration
8. Green Leaf Agreement
9. Tea manufacturing licence
10. Boards of Smallholder Tea Factories
11. Illegal manufacture
12. Annual and Monthly Production Statistical Returns
13. Registration of warehouse
14. Registration of a tea packer
15. Monthly return for a Tea Packer
16. Registration of a tea buyer or exporter
17. Registration of a Tea Broker
18. Considerations before registration and licensing and renewal
19. Monthly return for buyer, exporter, importer, broker and warehouse
20. Cancellation of a Licence or Registration
21. Registration or a management agent
22. Management Agent Agreement
23. Application for registration as an auction organizer
24. Auction Operations
25. Approval of trading rules and regulations
26. Additional information
The Authority or the County Government as the case may be, may require an applicant for a licence or registration certificate specified under these Regulations, to provide any additional information that it considers necessary to determine the application.27. Register and publication of names and particulars
The Authority shall maintain a register of all persons registered and licensed under these Regulations and may publish the register in such manner as it may determine.28. Fees and charges
29. Tea export declaration
30. Transit tea
31. Registration of a tea importer
32. Tea Imports
33. Declaration of export and import consignments
34. Release order
Part III – QUALITY ASSURANCE
35. Appointment of Crop Inspectors
36. Tea Standards
37. Prohibition of Import and export of tea seed or plants
38. Declaration of blended teas
Part IV – GENERAL PROVISIONS
39. Imposition of fees by the county governments
A County Government shall not impose any fees on tea contrary to section 17 (3) of the Act.40. Transferability of licence or registration certificate
A licence or registration certificate issued by the Authority or the County Government under these Regulations shall not be transferable to third parties.41. Validity of licences and registration certificates and late application
42. Revocation of licenses and certificate of registration
The licensing Authority may revoke, suspend or vary a license or certificate of registration issued to growers, dealers or manufactures if the holder—43. No compensation for revocation, variation or suspension of licence or registration
Where a licence or registration is revoked, varied or suspended under these Regulations, the holder of the licence or registration certificate shall not be entitled to claim from the Authority or Government for any compensation or any damages occurring as a result of such revocation, variation or suspension.44. Appeal process for denial or refusal of registration or licensing
45. Dispute Resolution between growers and other crop dealers
46. Modification of the forms
The licensing authority may make such modifications, alterations or additions on the prescribed forms as may be required from time to time to enable effective use including the use of such forms electronically.47. General penalty
A person who commits an offence under these Regulations, for which no penalty is prescribed shall be liable upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding five hundred thousand shillings or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding one year or to both in accordance with section 37 of the Act.48. [Spent]
49. [Spent]
50. Transitional Provisions
All licences and registrations existing before the coming into operation of these Regulations shall remain valid until their expiry, and subsequent licences and registrations shall be issued under these Regulations.History of this document
31 December 2022 this version
Revised by
24th Annual Supplement