KRA Clears Penalties Linked to iTax Downtime

Taxpayers affected by recent iTax disruptions are set to receive relief from penalties and interest. The Kenya Revenue Authority said charges caused directly by verified system failures will be removed.

Intermittent interruptions on the iTax platform affected both return submission and payment services during September. The difficulties were reported as taxpayers attempted to complete their statutory tax obligations.

KRA said the relief would only cover charges arising during confirmed periods of service disruption. Penalties unrelated to the technical problems will therefore remain subject to applicable tax requirements.

The authority will examine system records to establish the periods affected by the interruptions. The resulting information will be used to determine which penalties and interest qualify for removal.

VAT Filers Among Those Affected

The disruption occurred shortly before the September 20 deadline for submitting VAT returns. Taxpayers preparing their monthly declarations consequently faced difficulties accessing some services on the platform.

VAT filing and payment functions were among the services affected by the intermittent outages. The interruptions raised concerns about taxpayers being penalised despite attempting to comply within the required period.

KRA has now provided clarification on how charges arising from the disruptions will be handled. Only penalties and interest directly connected to verified downtime will be considered under the waiver.

Tax Law Provides Basis

The waiver will be implemented under Section 89(5A) of the Tax Procedures Act. KRA cited the provision while announcing the removal of qualifying penalties and interest.

The authority had earlier acknowledged technical interruptions affecting iTax services. Technical teams were subsequently engaged to restore normal functionality and address the reported disruptions.

No specific duration was provided for the latest downtime in the waiver announcement. The authority also did not confirm whether every affected iTax service had been fully restored.

Relief Subject to Verification

Taxpayers should not assume that every penalty incurred during September will automatically be removed. KRA will first establish whether individual charges were directly caused by the confirmed system interruptions.

The verification process will determine the periods during which the affected services were unavailable. Charges corresponding to those periods will then be identified for the waiver process.

The announcement is expected to ease concerns among taxpayers affected while trying to meet filing deadlines. It also provides clarification on how technical failures will be treated when statutory obligations are affected.

KRA apologised for the inconvenience experienced by taxpayers during the interruptions. Efforts to improve the reliability of its digital platforms were also said to be continuing.