Effective from 1st September 2023, all businesses in Kenya, whether registered for VAT or not, should switch to the new eTIMS (Electronic Tax Invoice Management System) for electronic handling of invoices using the eTIMS onboarding process. .

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) also stated that effective from January 1, 2024, taxpayers cannot claim their business expenses, if those expenses weren’t supported with electronic invoices. Hence, all taxpayers in Kenya have been gradually transitioning from their existing invoicing systems/ERPs to the new eTIMS model..

The new electronic invoicing software of eTIMS comes in different types, with each type suiting a certain type of business. The basic eTIMS onboarding process of signing up with your credentials and verifying your business with the OTP is the same for VAT-registered and non-VAT-registered businesses..

However, the main difference arises in choosing the type of eTIMS solution that best fits businesses requirements. KRA released eTIMS Lite, a new platform, exclusively for non-VAT registered to seamlessly integrate to eTIMS. For VAT-registered businesses, KRA has other platforms such as eTIMS Client, Online Portal, Virtual Sales Control Unit (VSCU) and Online Sales Control Unit (OSCU).