The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced that the Electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS) has undergone a significant upgrade in an effort to streamline service delivery.
In a notice dated February 26, the tax authority stated that the system update was aimed at simplifying several services, particularly the onboarding process.
"The improvements made to eTIMS aim to simplify the onboarding process, increase system flexibility, enhance efficiency, optimise performance, and provide taxpayers with a more streamlined, user-friendly experience," part of the statement read.
Most significantly, the new update allows for self-onboarding by eliminating the requirement for eTIMS approval of taxpayer applications to the revenue authority.
"This means that taxpayers can now apply for any of the available eTIMS solutions without requiring intervention from KRA," the statement explained.
After applying for any of the available services, the notice added, Kenyans will promptly receive a text message confirming that their application was successful.
Another new update allows Kenyans to use more than one eTIMS solution simultaneously to generate invoices at their convenience.
"For instance, taxpayers using eTIMS Client as their primary invoicing solution can now add the online portal as a secondary invoicing option and vice versa," the statement read, adding that this update also removes the pre-approval requirement when changing devices or solutions.
Additionally, the update enables access to all invoices generated from different eTIMS solutions, such as eTIMS Client, System-to-System integration solutions (VSCU & OSCU), and the eCitizen portal, through the online taxpayer portal.
Each of these solutions will, however, have its own invoice sequence to ensure that every invoice remains unique. Additionally, credit notes will only be generated from the solution where the original invoice was raised, enhancing the accuracy and consistency of tax invoice data.
Lastly, taxpayers using the System-to-System integration approach as their primary solution will now be able to integrate with more than one third-party integrator.
This upgrade will also enable the addition of a secondary device from another integrator by creating a branch under the Device Management section, accessible through the portal.
