Nairobi News

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) says it will blacklist 66,269 personal identification numbers (PINs) effective Thursday, June 10, after owners failed to file their tax returns.

The deregistration comes after the lapse of the 30-day ultimatum that the authority had given to all persons eligible to remit Value Added Taxes (VAT) as they enforce tax compliance as provided for by the Tax Procedures Act 2015.

The PINs are linked to individual accounts, companies, schools, and self-help groups that have persistently failed to file returns.

Affected taxpayers will be barred from charging VAT on their supplies and making input VAT claims on supplies. Their VAT obligations will also be deregistered and canceled.

“Deregistering or canceling of VAT obligations is a continuous excise and will affect taxpayers who perennially fail to file their VAT monthly returns or those who persistently file nil VAT returns, among others,” KRA said in a public notice.

“All VAT registered taxpayers are therefore advised to comply with their tax obligations to avoid deregistration or other punitive enforcement measures as provided in the tax statutes.”

Delisted taxpayers will not enjoy immunity from past tax obligations and will retain their PINs but will not be able to transact any business.

A KRA PIN is a prerequisite to many processes such as the opening of bank accounts, job applications, land registration, among others.

“Deregistered taxpayers will remain liable for any acts done or omitted while they were registered for VAT obligation. Taxpayers whose VAT obligations are canceled are reminded that charging VAT without an active VAT registration is an offense,” KRA added.

Last month, KRA gave a 30-day ultimatum after which they said they will begin the process of deregistering the PIN holders and erasing their data from the national servers.

“Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) would like to notify the public that taxpayers who are registered under the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, 2013, and the Income Tax Act, CAP 470 Laws of Kenya are required to file their returns under the respective laws,” read a notice from the authority.

Adding, “Failure to file tax returns, unless the cause is shown to the contrary, the commissioner of the Domestic Taxes shall have their Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) deregistered and cancelled from the KRA system at the expiration of thirty (30) days from the date of this notice.”

To verify if your name is on the list, the authority said one should visit its website.

The taxman further asked taxpayers to take advantage of the voluntary Tax Disclosure program and apply, disclose and pay their outstanding liability with a relief on interest and penalties.

The KRA PIN has become a major document for identification and verification and a tool to access a wide variety of government services and participate in financial and economic spheres in our country.