Afcacia

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has upgraded TIMS tax platform to eTIMS, a software solution which the revenue agency says provides more convenience to taxpayers.

The new software, KRA says, can be accessed through various electronic devices including computers and mobile phone Apps, making it more convenient, user-friendly and flexible for businesses to use.

The upgrade will foster efficiency of transmitting electronic invoices to KRA in real-time.

This latest version, which is available to taxpayers for free, will be available through three channels.It will make it possible for taxpayers to issue tax invoices which are then transmitted to KRA in real-time, while the mobile application will run on mobile phones and provide another avenue for issuing tax invoices.

An application will also be available to facilitate integration with businesses that opt to continue using their existing billing systems.

 eTIMS is a convenient solution for taxpayers to meet their tax obligations and offers access through an online portal, mobile application and Virtual Control Unit (VCU). There is also the alternative of eTIMS for laptops and desktops or mobile phones.

Taxpayers with invoicing systems (ERPs) can also use the Virtual Control Unit (VCU) invoicing system, which facilitates integration with businesses that prefer using their own billing systems. eTIMS also incorporates a Supply Chain Module (SCM), which manages inventory, thus enabling tax payer to track transactions.

This upgrade will significantly enhance the experience of taxpayers in managing their tax invoices as well as streamline the process of managing tax invoices, making it easier and more efficient.

Roll-out of eTIMS will be implemented in phases with taxpayers being involved in the entire process.

eTIMS seeks reduce the cost of compliance for VAT registered businesses. eTIMS-integrated businesses will benefit from real-time invoice transmission providing accuracy in tax invoice declarations and reconciliation between filed returns and payments. This will also eliminate the need for multiple hardware purchases.

VAT registered taxpayers facing challenges integrating with TIMS ETR devices.Taxpayers dealing in bulk invoicing and facing capacity/performance issues with invoice transmission. VAT registered taxpayers facing challenges integrating with TIMS ETR devices.