By Nsunjo Erica
The Tax Procedures Act, 2015 under section 89(7) provides that a taxpayer may apply for a tax waiver of penalty or interest where they meet the conditions specified therein, properly justified with supporting evidence.
Kenya Revenue Authority finalized the roll-out of the system enhancements for processing of the tax waiver applications and has embarked on clearing the backlog of the applications till the end of August.
The Kenya Revenue Authority in a notice said applicants will be required to submit supporting evidence for each application within a period of 30 days from the date specified in the aforementioned communication.
KRA said all defaulters including businesses will be expected to pay full payment of the penalties and interest accrued in case they fail to submit supporting evidence for the waivers ahead of the August deadline.
How To Apply For A TAX Waiver.
Make sure you remember well the mail address you used during registration. This will help you retrieve your KRA PIN and password in case you forgot it.
Visit the official KRA website using the link https://www.kra.go.ke/en/
Enter your KRA PIN number into the PIN box and click on Continue. Enter your KRA PIN password and key in the summation of the security stamp and click on Login (Be keen to enter the right password (don’t use lowercase if it is an uppercase letter).
After login, you will see the menu label Debts and Enforcement. Click it once. It will reveal the Apply for Waiver for Penalties and Interests menu item. Click on it to enter the details required.
Click on the Apply for Waiver for Penalties and Interests, under the page Choose Applicant Type as Taxpayer, and select Tax Obligation e.g. Income Tax Individual or VAT, then select Type such as penalty or interest or both
You will then need to choose each year that a waiver exists and enter the value you wish to request for waiver and finally click on Submit.
The Kenya Revenue Authority has given Kenyans a month (August) to apply for a tax waiver, or pay up in full amount the penalties with interests accrued or be auctioned in case both options fail.