KRA to monitor your day to day business transactions through Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS)
In an attempt to seal loopholes businesses use to evade tax remission, and to at least reach its revenue collection target, KRA is planning to introduce a new tax system that will allow the authority to monitor day to day business transactions. The tax system known as Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS) will be able to monitor daily business transactions run by traders, suppliers and manufacturers. In a notice given by the Authority, (TIMS) will enable KRA to make enhancements to iTax to increase its efficiency and effectiveness in tax administration through simplification of its user’s interaction.
So here is how the Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS) will work: all traders, suppliers and manufacturers will be required to set up an internet-enabled electronic tax register. This will allow KRA real time access to invoices issued by traders. Through this electronic tax register, the taxman will be able to monitor all transactions in the traders’ point of sale and invoicing system. The new system is to be immediately implemented by any business generating Ksh 5 million and above annually. By law all these business are to have the electronic tax registers. The businesses risk closure or termination if they fail to submit the information into system of the taxman. In addition the Authority said that the control unit should send end of day summary after all the invoices for the respective day have been transmitted. This should be done before starting invoice transmission for the next day or they may be locked out.
The Kenya Revenue Authority said the move was to majorly prevent the increasing tax evasion in the country. Tax evasion has been one of the major problems that has made the taxman not achieve its revenue collection target. Tax evasion claims have also seen some 27 betting firms denied operating licenses for the financial period July 2019 and June 2020. Remarks made by the CS for Interior Dr Matiangi stated that the betting firms had evaded tax for quite some time. According to him the betting firms evaded tax amounting to Ksh 26 billion which prompted the shutdown of paybill numbers used by the betting firms.
See also: Who said Matiangi is interested in ending betting? Betting firms are still operational
