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KRA to now notify users before deregistering their PINs

May 5th, 2021 2 min read

Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) on Tuesday said it will now notify dormant taxpayers before they deregister them, a day after announcing it would cancel Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) for persons who fail to file returns.

Kenyans on Monday took issue after the taxman gave a 30-day ultimatum to all persons eligible to remit Value Added Taxes as well as income taxes to file returns or they would begin the process of deregistering them and erasing their data from the national servers.

In a second notice on Tuesday, KRA said the commissioner for domestic taxes shall notify those who will be affected, unlike the Monday notice which said the PINs would be deleted without notice.

The Tuesday notice was undersigned by the commissioner for domestic taxes and not the commissioner for legal and board coordination, who had issued the Monday notice.

“Please be advised that the Commissioner shall notify the affected taxpayers of the intention to deactivate/cancel their registration via their iTax registered email addresses. Where a person is deregistered, the cancellation of the person’s registration shall take effect from the date specified in the notice of cancellation. Notwithstanding the cancellation of registration, the person shall be liable for any act done or omitted while registered,” said KRA.

On its website, the tax collection agency has listed 62,727 PINs intended for de-registration in the next month.

The list of pins set for cancellation are linked to an estimated 7,107 individual accounts with the balance, a majority, comprising of companies, schools and self-help groups.

The authority has urged taxpayers to take advantage of the ongoing voluntary tax disclosure program (VTDP).

“Taxpayers are also encouraged to take advantage of the Voluntary Tax Disclosure Program and apply, disclose and pay their outstanding liability with a relief on interest and penalties,” added KRA.

A KRA PIN is a prerequisite to many processes, including the opening of bank accounts, job applications, and land registration.