[REVISION HISTORY]

Kenya Revenue Authority digital tax reforms

Updated 1 time since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-07 09:33 UTC → 2026-09-17 04:51 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has introduced several digital and regulatory measures to enhance tax compliance and transparency. Initially, the KRA announced new guidelines under the Finance Act 2026 regarding tax exemptions for gratuity payments, which are subject to specific service duration and earnings thresholds. This period also saw the integration of the Electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS) with the Integrated Financial Management Information System (IFMIS) to automate validation for government suppliers. Following these developments, the KRA implemented automated cross-checking systems to validate tax returns against data from eTIMS, withholding tax records, and customs information. ~~This~~ Effective January 1, 2026, this system is ~~intended~~ designed to flag discrepancies for audit, such as mismatches between reported turnover and electronic invoices. ~~Additionally,~~ To support these digital shifts, the ~~authority~~ KRA scheduled a 12-hour maintenance period for the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) ~~to improve reliability, a move that~~ on September 6, 2026, which temporarily ~~impacted cargo operations~~ suspended the declaration and clearance of goods at major hubs like the Port of Mombasa. In response to intermittent downtime on the iTax portal during September 2026, the KRA announced it will waive penalties and interest for affected taxpayers. This relief, applied in accordance with Section 89(5A) of the Tax Procedures Act, is not a blanket waiver; the authority will verify specific periods of service unavailability to ensure only those directly impacted by the technical interruptions receive relief.

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