KRA issues deadline on tax defaulters’ interest waiver
What you need to know:
- Businesses and individuals seeking waivers must meet the requirements.
- KRA intensified efforts to smoke out defaulters in its race against time to stem its perennial missed collection targets.
Individuals and businesses have until end of this month to apply for amnesty on defaulted taxes or risk seizure and auctioning of their property.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) last week said the affected, who owe an estimated Sh250 billion in tax arrears, have up to August 30 to apply for the waiver on penalties and interest.
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 inability to pay the penalties or interest accrued or prove that KRA erred in slapping them with the fines.
Waiver applications system
“KRA has finalised the roll-out of the system enhancements for processing of the waiver applications and has embarked on clearing the backlog of the applications,” said a notice by Elizabeth Meyo, KRA’s Commissioner for Domestic Taxes.
“The 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 warned that it will demand full payment of the penalties and interest accrued by individuals and businesses who fail to submit supporting evidence for the waivers ahead of the August deadline.
The taxman 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.
