This archive report was first published on 6 August 2020.
As of August 6, 2020, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) had given tax defaulters an estimated Sh250 billion in tax arrears a deadline of August 30 to apply for a waiver on penalties and interest.
The waiver, as per the Tax Procedures Act of 2015, requires applicants to provide proof of financial distress or evidence that KRA erred in slapping them with fines.
Ms Elizabeth Meyo, KRA's Commissioner for Domestic Taxes Department, noted that the authority had finalised the roll out of the system enhancements for processing of the waiver applications and had embarked on clearing the backlog of the applications.
Applicants will be required to submit supporting evidence within a period of 30 days, failing which the KRA will demand full payment of the penalties and interest accrued.
The taxman had last year identified tax cheats and intensified efforts to nab defaulters in its race against time to stem its perennial missed collection targets.
Enforcement actions the taxman can take include disabling of personal identification numbers (PINs), issuing travel bans on suspected tax cheats, collecting duty directly from suppliers and bankers of defaulters, and prosecuting those in arrears.
