Relief as KRA extends ETR deadline again
Traders are resting easier after the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) extended the compliance deadline for procuring new Electronic Tax Registers (ETRs) to November 30.
The regulator had initially set a September 30, 2022 deadline, where the business community was expected to migrate to the new Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS), to help the taxman increase taxpayers and also nab tax cheats.
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.
Additional time provided
“Having noted that a number of taxpayers are still in the process of acquiring and integrating the ETR devices with their invoicing systems, KRA further advises that an administrative decision has been taken to provide additional time until 30th November 2022, to allow them complete this process,” said the statement from the office of the Commissioner for Domestic Taxes.
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 as the regulator plans to increase tax collections further but in a friendlier manner.
For the first time in 14 years, the regulator managed to exceed revenue targets by Sh148.9 billion in the financial year to June 2022, on higher collections in corporate, payroll and value-added taxes.
“Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) wishes to inform stakeholders, taxpayers, business community and the public that the deadline to comply with the Value Added Tax (Electronic Tax Invoice) Regulations, 2020 by transitioning to the Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS) has been extended to 30th November 2022. The initial deadline was 30th September 2022,” the taxman added.
After the transition KRA will receive sales and invoice data from all registered firms and traders daily in a fresh push to boost revenue collections and curb tax evasion.
Without the gadgets, traders would be forced to stop operations or apply to the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes for an extension of time to comply, which should not exceed six months.
Traders who would have failed to upgrade ETRs at their premises ahead of the deadline risked a Sh1 million fine or a jail term of three years.
The law requires all businesses with an annual turnover of at least Sh5 million to have ETRs.
