The Kenya Revenue Authority has extended the deadline for businesses to switch to the new upgraded internet-enabled electronic tax registers. This was occasioned by a shortage of the gadgets by distributors, prompting a criss meeting between KRA and ETR suppliers.
The meeting which was chaired by Commissioner General Githii Mburu resolved to postpone the deadline amid tough economic conditions for traders and high cost of obtaining the internet-enabled ETR machines.
The new ETRs will be linked to KRA’s systems via the Internet, allowing it to monitor all transactions in the traders’ POS and invoicing systems. Traders will also be required to purchase software for the devices in addition to the upgraded ETR software.
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The new internet-enabled system cost traders between Sh45,000 and Sh120,000 for the ETRs and about Sh80,000 for the billing software.
Most suppliers also reported a shortage of the devices against the July 31 deadline. Traders received the news of the extension with a sigh of relief.
“The KRA has extended the deadline for the requirement by taxpayers to comply with regulations of Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS) to September 30, 2022,” said the KRA on Monday in a notice to traders.
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“The extension of the deadline is an administrative decision necessitated by taxpayers’ request for more time to acquire and activate their TIMS devices in compliance with Electronic Tax Invoice (ETI) Regulations that were gazetted on September 25, 2020, Legal Notice 189.
The new ETR will replace the current manual tax registers, which store sales data for 30 days before being analyzed by the KRA.
The taxman had attached a Sh1 million fine and/or three year jail term for businesses which fail to comply with the new designation by the set deadline. The one month extension pushes the deadline to September.
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