The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has opened a new amnesty window on accumulated penalties and interest for companies and individuals under a new phase of a tax pardon programme, which runs until June 2025.
The waivers, which kicked off on December 27, 2024, will apply to interest, penalties, or fines on tax debt for periods up to December 31, 2023.
KRA said that the Tax Procedures (Amendment) Act, 2024 introduced a tax amnesty on interest, penalties, or fines on tax debt and urged individuals and businesses to take advantage of the waivers.
"The tax amnesty shall be implemented as follows: A person who has paid all the principal taxes that were due by December 31, 2023, will be entitled to automatic waiver of the penalties and interest related to that period and will not be required to make an amnesty application," the taxman said
"A person who has not paid all the principal taxes accrued up to December 31, 2023, and is unable to make a one-off payment for the outstanding principal taxes will be required to apply to the Commissioner for the amnesty and propose a payment plan for any outstanding principal taxes, which should be paid by June 30, 2025," it added.
In an earlier amnesty phase which ended in June 2024, KRA wrote off debts amounting to Sh507.7 billion in accumulated penalties and interest for companies and individuals.
The waiver applied to nearly 3.12 million (3,115,393) taxpayers who paid up principal debts that had accrued until December 2022, the KRA says, adding that the beneficiaries have already been roped into the tax net.
Under the 10-month partial tax amnesty, firms and individuals who had cleared the principal taxes automatically had arrears in outstanding fines and interest written off without applying under the programme which started September 2023.
The Ruto administration under the Finance Act 2023 offered the pardon on accrued penalties and interest.
