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Introduction

On 18^th December 2018, I received through email Kenya Revenue Authority Citizen’s Service Delivery Charter.

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Many other persons also received the Charter. However, some Citizens may not have received this Charter – they may not be taxpayers. It is noticeable that this Service Charter was released after our earlier article in November 2018 in this Website on Customer Care for Taxpayers.

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We commend KRA for this great step – it is in the right direction.

What is the Charter?

A Charter is a document that defines “rights and privileges and also obligations”. In taxation, the mantra is “there are no rights and privileges without obligations”.

Hence, the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Citizen’s Service Delivery Charter is a document that should define the rights and privileges of the Kenyan Citizens in service delivery as far as taxes are concerned. We hope a document on the taxpayer’s obligations will soon be out.

Taxpayers remit taxes to the government while the government receives the taxes.

KRA is the corporate body with the responsibility of collecting taxes on behalf of the government and for that, it is paid a commission.

The responsibility of collecting taxes involves implementing the tax laws, ensuring that the taxpayers submit tax returns, remit the correct amount of tax and at the right time.

To successfully fulfil its mandate, KRA offers various services to the taxpayers. In receiving the services, the taxpayers have rights, privileges as well as obligations.

The rights and privileges are provided by KRA and are enjoyed by the taxpayers.

However, the obligations are fulfilled by the taxpayers. This Service Charter is about the rights and privileges that should be enjoyed by the taxpayer but provided by KRA.

Contents of the Service Charter

This Service Charter covers services under Domestic Taxes and, Customs and Border Control. The Service Charter sets out:

1. The requirements to access the services – this is mainly documents.
2. The cost of the services.
3. The time it should take for the services to be delivered.

a. Domestic Taxes

Under Domestic Taxes, the Service Charter covers services in eight areas:

1. PIN for individual.
2. PIN for non-individuals.
3. Amendment of registration details.
4. Obligation removal from PIN.
5. Registration of Pensions.
6. Income tax refunds – individuals.
7. Income tax refunds – non-individuals.
8. Exemption certificates to persons with disabilities.

b. Customs and Border Control

Under the Customs and Border Control, the Charter covers services in five areas:

1. Processing of entries – imports and exports.
2. Post clearance audits – notification for the audits and the audit process for all imports.
3. Processing of security bonds – bank guarantee, guarantor and customer witnesses.
4. Bond cancellations – exit verification report and certificate of export (COE).
5. Granting of clearing and forwarding agency licenses.

Access to Information

Also, the Service Charter assures taxpayers of their right to access information about their tax affairs under all taxes that are administered by KRA. Taxpayers should take note of this.

Complaints

Further, the Service Charter sets out the process to lodge any complaints depending on whether one’s complaints are addressed to their satisfaction. The steps are as follows:

1. Step 1: In-person to the nearest tax station or email to cellcentre@kra.go.ke or phone call 020 4 999 999/+254-0711 099 999.
2. Step 2: Complaint Information Centre – email cic@kra.go.ke or phone 020 281 7700/7800
3. Step 3: The Commissioner General: email cg@kra.go.ke, P.O Box 48240-00100, Nairobi.
4. Step 4: Office of the Ombudsman: email complain@ombudsman.go.ke, P.O Box 48240-00100, Nairobi.

It should be noted that in this Service Charter, the Commissioner General and Office of the Ombudsman share the same postal address. We hope it is an error.

Conclusion

Taxpayers need to read the Service Charter and make sure they keep a copy for future reference. This is because the Service Charter is a commitment by KRA to the citizens. Also, there are many instances where the service Charter is used to determine tax disputes.

For example, in case a taxpayer has applied for obligation removal such as VAT obligation and has submitted all the requisite documents, KRA has committed to removing the VAT obligation within 2 months.

This means that in case the taxpayer fails to submit a tax return on the third month after applying for the obligation to be removed, the taxpayer should not pay any penalties or interest resulting fro their continued VAT registration.

This Service Charter is important because it provides taxpayers with rights and privileges that can be enforced even in a Court of Law. However, the list is not exhaustive since there are many other taxpayer’s rights and privileges in the Tax Acts that are administered by KRA.

The following is the Citizen’s Service Delivery Charter put out by KRA in December 2018 and note that this is a public document. Read and keep a copy.

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Disclaimer

This post is for general overview and guidance and does not in any way amount to professional advice. Hence, www.taxkenya.com, its owner or associates do not take any responsibility for results of any action taken on the basis of the information in this post or for any errors or omissions. Kenyan taxpayers must always rely on the most current information from KRA. Tax industry in Kenya is very dynamic.

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