KRA Gives Kenyans A Month To Pay Up Or Be Auctioned

By Nsunjo Erica

Individuals and businesses have until the end of this month to apply for amnesty on defaulted taxes or risk seizure and auctioning of their property.

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.

According to KRA’s Commissioner for Domestic Taxes Elizabeth Meyo, KRA has finalized the roll-out of the system enhancements for processing of the waiver applications and has embarked on clearing the backlog of the applications.

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.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) last week said the affected, who owe an estimated 250 billion shillings in tax arrears, have up to August 30 to apply for the waiver on penalties and interest.

KRA had last year said it had identified tax cheats as it intensified efforts to smoke out defaulters in its race against time to stem its perennial missed collection targets.

It should be noted that individuals and businesses have until the end of this month to apply for amnesty on defaulted taxes or risk seizure and auctioning of their property according to KRA.

Businesses and individuals seeking waivers must meet the requirements in line with the Tax Procedures Act of 2015 that gives KRA’s Commissioner of Domestic Taxes power to forego penalties and interest.

Under the law, individuals and businesses must provide proof of financial distress that show an inability to pay the penalties or interest accrued or prove that KRA erred in slapping them with the fines.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic several businesses have been hit hard following disruptions in supply chains that reduced purchasing power and later let to downsizing or indefinite closure.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also affected several individuals by rendering them jobless after the indefinite closure of their places of work, this explains why so many individuals and businesses have failed to meet their tax obligations.