The Kenya Revenue Authority is stepping up efforts to boost tax collections from the petroleum sector through full adoption of the Electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS) fuel module.
Since December, over 500 fuel outlets have been integrated into the system, allowing real-time monitoring of sales and transactions.
These stations account for about 16 percent of the nation’s fuel retail network, showing early progress in curbing underreporting and reducing revenue leakages in the petroleum value chain.
“The system integrates seamlessly with import records and the VAT (value-added tax) administration framework, enabling automatic reconciliation of physical fuel volumes against declared sales volumes and corresponding tax positions,” said Ezekiel Obura, KRA acting Deputy Commissioner for the Large Taxpayers’ Office in a statement.
KRA explains that the eTIMS fuel module tracks petroleum operations from import and storage to distribution and final retail. The authority says this end-to-end visibility will improve VAT accuracy and promote fairness in tax compliance across the sector.
This move is part of KRA’s broader push to enforce eTIMS adoption across businesses. Earlier this month, the authority announced plans for a Merchant Tax Compliance Certificate linked to eTIMS.
Unlike the current Tax Compliance Certificate, which mainly tracks tax return filing and payments, the new certificate will require businesses to show that all expenses are backed by valid electronic invoices.
Businesses need tax compliance certificates for government tenders, customs clearance, and licenses, while individuals must present them for government job applications. Foreign nationals also require the certificates when applying for or renewing work permits.
