Lugari Member of Parliament Nabii Nabwera says that the move by the government to introduce electronic tax invoice management system (eTIMS) is ill-advised.
Speaking on Thursday, May 23, 2024, during a morning interview panel with K24 TV, the lawmaker said the government introduced the system without considering several factors.
Access to smartphones
According to Nabwera, the government failed to consider Kenyans from rural areas who have no access to smartphones and the internet.
“The Kenya Kwanza government in their own wisdom decided to introduce eTIMS. I come from a sugarcane growing area. The government is asking a villager, a widow from Lwandeti who has no access to a smartphone, and with a limited level of education to access (such) a service,” Nabwera said.
The lawmaker says it makes no sense to ask a villager who is a sugarcane farmer to raise an eTIMS invoice to a sugar factory before he/she gets paid.
He argues that many villagers are not conversant with the service and this will leave them stranded.
Nabwera was not convinced that the villagers could be able to access the eTIMS services using a USSD code.
Hon. Nabii Nabwera: In their own wisdom, Kenya Kwanza decided to introduce E-Tims and expected a villager with no smartphone, and a limited level of education to access a service.#NewDawn pic.twitter.com/bgM25Fegsg
— K24 TV (@K24Tv) May 23, 2024
The tax invoice management system was first introduced in 2022, and President William Ruto’s administration effected it in 2023.
KRA eTIMS
All taxpayers who are not VAT-registered were required to issue invoices through eTIMS from September 1, 2023.
This means that for any non-VAT-compliant Kenyan to be paid for any service offered to any company, he/she must raise an invoice.
Kenyans faced challenges after the service was first introduced.
This forced the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to launch ‘eTIMS Lite’, a new platform designed to help non-VAT registered taxpayers generate and send their invoices to KRA electronically through an easy-to-use interface.
The initial compliance deadline was January 1, 2024, but it was extended to March 31, 2024.
Despite the introduction of eTIMS Lite, the compliance deadline remains unchanged, and taxpayers are expected to capture all manually issued invoices and receipts on eTIMS from January 1, 2024, up to the date of onboarding.
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