The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Monday started sending out officers with paramilitary training to the doorsteps of Kenyans to enforce tax compliance as the race to hit a revenue target of Sh2.7 trillion by the close of the current financial year hots up.
The taxman in a notice to taxpayers said the officers known as Revenue Service Assistants (RSAs), are going out in the field to help facilitate online registration of businesses.
The 1,400 officers who graduated from the Kenya Defence Forces Recruits Training School in Eldoret last month, will also help verify taxpayers’ details.
The rollout of the Electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS) aimed at optimal performance of VAT revenue collection will be among the roles of the RSAs.
"Feel free to approach them, say hello, and let them know how they can assist you," said the taxman in a recent notice to taxpayers dated September 18, 2023.
KRA says the officers, who will be knocking on the doorssteps of Kenyans to enforce tax compliance will also be collecting taxpayers’ data.
The set of data they will be collecting was not well defined.
The RSAs will conduct market surveillance to identify non-registered traders, and continuous patrols to ensure customers are issued with tax receipts by traders.
The Kenya Revenue Authority collected Sh317.58 billion in taxes for the two months through August, Treasury Secretary Njuguna Ndung’u reported Friday, a growth of 13.33 percent over Sh280.23 billion in a similar period last year.
The growth was, however, the slowest in three years, having grown 13.37 percent in the corresponding period last year over Sh247.18 billion in the July-August period of 2021.
The growth rate in the same period of financial year 2021-2022 was 31.42 percent.
The government is banking on a raft of new taxation measures to net Sh2.496 trillion to fund his first full-year budget in office.
This means the taxman has to collect an average of Sh207.99 billion monthly on a prorated basis to meet the full-year goal.
