NAIROBI, Kenya August 3 – Traders can heave a sigh of relief after the Kenya Revenue Authority extended the compliance deadline to switch the new Electronic Tax Registers(ETRs) to September 30.
KRA had initially set a July 31 deadline, where manufacturers and traders in the country were expected to migrate to a new Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS).
Last week, there had been concern over a shortage of the new Internet-enabled ETRs, being supplied by KRA’s 16 approved suppliers.
According to a statement from the taxman, the extension of the deadline was necessitated by taxpayers’ request for more time to acquire and activate their TIMS devices in compliance with Electronic Tax Invoice (ETI) Regulations.
VAT registered taxpayers are required to fully transition to use Electronic Tax Registers that meet the requirements outlined in the Regulations, failure to which they risk a Sh1 million fine, or a jail term of three years.
Under the new system, the taxman will be receiving sales and invoice data from all registered firms and traders daily on its digital system, iTax.
The move is aimed at enhancing VAT compliance, minimizing fiscal fraud, and increasing tax revenue in accordance with the VAT Regulations, 2020.
Taxpayers will also be required to keep and safeguard the data in the previously used Electronic Tax Registers as the law requires them to keep the record for five years.
