Taxman Agents Start Door-to-Door Visits to Ensure Tax Compliance

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KRA RSA door-to-door agents

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has deployed 1,400 Revenue Service Assistants (RSA) who will be going door-to-door to ensure tax compliance. The RSA agents are part of the intrusive efforts by KRA to collect KES 3.03 trillion in revenue to finance the KES 3.6 trillion budget for the financial year 2023/24.

They are expected to play key tax mobilization roles in their door-to-door campaign visiting business premises. These include:

  • Online registration of businesses
  • Verifying taxpayer details
  • Identifying traders who are not officially registered
  • Ensuring traders issue tax receipts
  • Onboarding Vendors onto eTIMS for VAT collection

Many months ago, tax collector KRA alerted the public and all VAT-registered taxpayers of the transitioning of VAT-registered taxpayers to the Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS). The agents will seek to ensure every eligible business is on board.

Of the 1400 RSA, the bulk are expected to be dispatched in Nairobi county. However, businesses across the country will come under scrutiny. Thus, its advisable to check on your books and keep your tax records updated.

Kenyans will be able to verify the KRA staff before engaging them. One can verify through *572# or the KRA website.

Intrusive efforts by KRA do not end with the agents. Treasury proposes the Data Protection Act of 2019 be amended to give special exemption to KRA. The proposed exemptions will enable KRA to have easier access to data and information from third parties like telcos and banks.

Hence, KRA will monitor transactions on mobile merchant accounts such as Safaricom’s Lipa Na M-Pesa in real-time after linking its platform with that of telcos. This move replicates the successes of a similar integration with betting companies in catching tax evaders.

RSA Agents Have Undergone Military Training

In May this year, KRA advertised for the position of Revenue Service Assistant. The advertised requirements were a KCSE/IGSE certificate with a minimum grade of C–, a valid Certificate of Good Conduct. In addition, one had to have a KRA PIN Certificate, NHIF, NSSF, and a national ID card.

The agents are expected to earn a gross salary of KES 53,500 subject to applicable statutory deduction.

The RSA agents underwent training at a military school. Recently, they graduated from the Kenya Defence Force (KDF) Recruits Training School in Eldoret. Kenya School of Revenue Administration (KESRA) also delivered training. JESRA handled all tax, customs and KRA related training.

The program for the agents is said to cost KRA KES 1.2 billion. The authority has also reintroduced the Graduate Trainee (GT) program.

All these are efforts geared towards revenue mobilization.

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13 COMMENTS

  1. This government is not serious. The common mwananchi is suffering while they’re busy traveling abroad with our taxes instead of pumping our taxes into the ailing economy. The government need to create job orpotunities to millions youths who are jobless. One year down the line there’s no tangible solution to the high cost of leaving what they know is to collect tax and splash them abroad.

  2. Kenya is a mental hospital,how can you train tax assistance officers in a military college? Is it a declared war against investors or compliance….

  3. We are all bebaring msalaba ya a few who are easily convinced with empty promises… when the manifesto is too good to be real this is what you get… Now they have changed their tongues on you, on your faces na hakuna kitu itafanyika sai for this guy to listen to as they said ” common mwananchi” right now it’s impossible “lucky of a better word” you ain’t ” common” to them you are there beneficiaries, they are preying on you mkenya…

  4. Kenyans should be taxed 5 times higher cos wamesoea sana.walipe gava.i propose oxygen generated levy from day one to the date n time of death. Walipe.mambo ni matatu.

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