Nyamakima and Kamukunji. My friend. If you have never been to these two areas within Nairobi CBD, then you can’t understand the backbone of the country’s economy.
The flurry of activities happening in seconds. Manoeuvring through the crowded streets with incessant voices urging you to buy from the shops.
While standing to stare at the carpets and doormats, or still pondering which broker you’d follow, a car hoots at you, with the driver pointing from the window.
“Songa wewe mizigo ipite. Tumechelewa.” As you move aside to offer him room to manoeuvre, a cart puller whistles, nearly bumping into you.
At that point, you are holding onto your purse or wallet tightly. Then you see whether your phone is still intact. You laugh at yourself for a minute.
In the streets, you meet different people, some chasing commissions, pulling you towards one shop, some passers-by staring at you, seemingly thinking you look familiar, some brushing into you, and others polite enough to ask for passage. “Excuse me,” they say.
Everyone in the crowd moves as if they are pulled by unseen hands, dragging them this and that way. Their eyes scan faster, from one object to another. They all respond in different ways.
Some refer to their lists, handwritten on some paper. Others call back home for a reminder.
But they all choose freely, aligning with their taste and preferences. I see all of you from my shop, on the second floor, somewhere around.
Whenever you come inside, I engage you in a conversation that wakes up a part of you, convincing you to change or upgrade your choice.
Sometimes I am more human, and I offer discounts. There are days I surprise some clients by offering some items for free. Once in a while, ensure I bank on their referrals.
But simultaneously, I am more cautious of the bulk of transactions. Some days I used to spend more time filing invoices. Si mnajua lazima tulipe ushuru.
So one day, I lacked an item a regular customer had already paid for. Like always, all we do is pop into the next shop, and request it from your colleague - but of course, with some interest.
At Sarah’s shop, dealing in textiles, I found myself learning how to use the Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS). She was among the first sellers to purchase the upgraded Electronic Tax Register (ETR) device.
We used to use the old ETR devices until 2021, when KRA asked us to upgrade our ETR devices when they first rolled out the Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS). The problem with the upgraded ETR machines was the high cost of the devices. To address such challenges, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) upgraded to the electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS), on February 1, 2023.
eTIMS, I learnt, is an upgrade of the Tax Invoice Management System (TIMS), offering a software solution which provides technological convenience to meet taxpayers’ compliance needs.
“Look here, Jose,” she pointed. “You can access eTIMS via your computer or mobile phone app. This makes it more convenient to send invoices to KRA as it is user-friendly and flexible for businesses, especially us, small-scale traders,” she added.
The objective of the eTIMS, I learnt, is to reduce the cost of compliance for VAT-registered businesses.
“Through integration with eTIMS, businesses benefit from real time invoice transmission providing accuracy in tax invoice declarations and reconciliation between filed returns and payments,” Sarah explained.
“It also eliminates the need for multiple hardware purchases,” she added.
Like me, those with the TIMS ETR devices can continue to use them until advised to migrate into eTIMS fully. However, the upgrade was critical for taxpayers dealing in bulk invoicing and facing capacity or performance issues with invoice transmission.
{"preview_thumbnail":"/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/ZElfAWUb9N0.jpg?itok=dS8Qkhmg","video_url":"","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}
“Roll-out of eTIMS will be done through a phased approach. As such, there will be continuous engagements with taxpayers throughout the implementation,” Sarah told me as I returned to my shop.
I found my customer waiting patiently.
“Umekaa sana. Ilikua ngumu kupata,” she asked.
“Quite difficult. Yes. But I also learnt of KRA’s upgraded model of submitting invoices,” I told her.
“That’s great. Kulipa ushuru ni kujitegemea,” the customer added as others walked inside.
“Paul,” I called my aid. “Mbona hujahudumia hawa customers?” I wondered as he sprung into action.
{"preview_thumbnail":"/files/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/WlWMm3U1-54.jpg?itok=iVPwrPX5","video_url":"","settings":{"responsive":1,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":0},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}