KRA rules out extension of tax filing deadline
The KRA support centre at Railway grounds in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | MARTIN MUKANGU | NMG
What you need to know:
- Filing tax returns has emerged as one of the taxman’s most preferred way of netting tax cheats and growing the income tax segment as it struggles to meet its collection targets.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has said that it will not extend the June 30 deadline for filing tax returns with those in breach risking a Sh20, 000 fine.
Judith Njagi, Chief Manager Taxpayer Services Nairobi region, said on Monday that 3.2 million had the met the Saturday deadline, adding that the taxman will in coming days starting sending notices for the Sh20,000 fine.
She said the authority will start pursuing persons with KRA Personal Identification Number (PIN) who failed to file returns, given those will zero income are expected to fill what is known as nil return.
“All taxpayers are still encouraged to file. The penalty for late filing of all the annual returns is five per cent of tax due or Sh20, 000, whichever is higher,” she said. She added that only those who had sought an extension for late filling will be exempted from the Sh20,000 fine. But they must have sought the nod at least 30 days before the June 30 deadline.
Filing tax returns has emerged as one of the taxman’s most preferred way of netting tax cheats and growing the income tax segment as it struggles to meet its collection targets.
The law requires anyone with a PIN to file their annual returns.
Kenya in 2015 raised the penalty for failure to file returns to Sh20, 000 from Sh1, 000.
The increased filing got a boost from linking the government payment system to the online tax register, dubbed the iTax, nabbing tax cheats who make millions of shillings from trading with the state.
In 2018, the number of taxpayers who filed their tax return by midnight of June 30 deadline increased by 900,000 to more than 3.2 million as businesses and workers rushed to beat the Sh20,000 fine for non-compliance.
