The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) reported surpassing its October revenue collection target by Sh6.8 million.
Additionally, the authority exceeded the exchequer target by over Sh200 million, achieving a remarkable 100 percent fulfillment.
The Customs and Border Control (C&BC) department collected Sh73.165 billion in October, marking the highest monthly C&BC revenue in KRA’s history.
The previous record was Sh72.809 billion collected in August 2023.
Oil taxes brought in an impressive surplus of Sh3.816 billion.
Key contributors included the Road Maintenance Levy (RML), which generated Sh4.289 billion, excise tax on oil at Sh198 million, the Petroleum Regulatory Levy (PRL) at Sh187 million, and the Railway Development Levy (RDL) on oil at Sh92 million.
KRA attributed these results to a 30.7 percent increase in overall oil volumes, driven by a 62.3 percent rise in petrol, a 4.2 percent increase in diesel, and a 46.1% boost in other oil products.
The RML’s strong performance was bolstered by a levy increase from Sh18 to Sh25 per liter, implemented through a legal notice in July 2024.
Additional growth came from the Air Passenger Service Charge, which exceeded its target by Sh131 million, benefiting from a 5.1% rise in visitor arrivals at JKIA and MIA between January and August 2024.
Other revenue streams, such as the RDL on non-oil products and the Transit Road Toll, also outperformed expectations, generating Sh550 million and Sh61 million, respectively.
“Withholding tax surpassed target by Sh2,593 million due to good performance from both Private sector (mainly Interest, Dividends, Pension or Retirement Annuity, etc) and Public Sector with growths of 27.4 percent and 41.9 percent respectively,” the authority revealed.
PAYE collections exceeded their target by Sh689 million, primarily due to robust remittances from the public sector.
Corporation Tax also saw a surplus of Sh155 million, fueled by first installment payments and better performance from sectors like electricity and oil, manufacturing, retail, real estate, and food services.
Betting Tax and Excise Tax on betting services surpassed their targets by Sh16 million and Sh50 million, respectively, with ongoing European football leagues like the EPL and La Liga driving increased activity among punters.
KRA also highlighted that agency revenue was Sh1.863 billion above target, with the Housing Levy exceeding its goal by Sh1.826 billion.
Remittances from both public and private sectors contributed Sh1.073 billion and Sh753 million, respectively. Surplus funds of Sh5.128 billion were collected from agencies like the Communications Authority of Kenya (CAK), the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA), and the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA).
However, not all targets were met. Domestic VAT fell short by Sh2.371 billion, as sectors like electricity, finance, transport, and wholesale trade saw a 26.3% decline in remittances. Additionally, a 14.7% drop in turnover sales, combined with minimal input growth and the utilization of tax credits from previous months, impacted overall performance.