Getting a KRA PIN for a company or partnership
How a new Kenyan company or partnership registers for a KRA PIN on iTax: the thirty-day rule, directors' PINs first, the form's sections and tracking it.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Kenya
The certificate of incorporation is framed, the bank wants to open an account, and the first customer wants an invoice. Almost every next step for a new Kenyan company or partnership asks for the same thing: the entity's own KRA PIN, separate from the PINs of the people who own and run it.
Registering for one is done online on iTax and is not difficult, but it has an order to it. The people behind the business must be on iTax before the business can be, and the form asks for details that are easier to gather beforehand than to hunt for halfway through.
When the thirty-day clock starts
KRA says an application for PIN registration must be made in the prescribed form, with the documents the Commissioner requires, within thirty days of the applicant becoming liable for the tax.
The deadline runs from liability, not from incorporation. In practice few companies wait that long, because the PIN is needed for so much ordinary business, from the bank account to the first supplier contract. Where a Kenyan business needs its KRA PIN lists the transactions KRA names. Treat the PIN as part of setting the company up, and apply as soon as the registration certificate is issued.
Directors and shareholders on iTax first
The Business Registration Service says directors and shareholders of a new private limited company must be registered on the iTax platform. That requirement comes before the company exists: the people have to be on iTax for the company to be registered on eCitizen in the first place, as described in registering a private company on eCitizen.
It matters again at the PIN stage. KRA says PIN registration for companies and partnerships is done online on iTax under "New PIN Registration", uploading the business registration certificate details together with the directors' PINs and national IDs. A director without a personal PIN stops the company's application, so check every individual's PIN before you begin.
The non-individual form, section by section
On the iTax portal, KRA says a non-individual registers by choosing the taxpayer type "non-individual" and the "Online Form" mode of registration. The form then asks for:
| Section | What it covers | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| A | The company's basic information | Yes |
| B | Obligation details: the taxes the entity is registering for | Yes |
| D | Details of directors and associates | Yes |
| E | Agent details | Optional |
Section B deserves thought. Each obligation you add is a promise to file returns for it, period after period, including nil returns when there is nothing to declare. Register for what the business will actually have, and add others when they arise, with your accountant's advice.
Section E is optional, but if a tax agent or accountant will act for the business, recording them at the outset avoids confusion later about who deals with KRA.
Take care with spelling and with the order of names in section D. The directors and associates you list there should match the company's registration documents exactly. A director entered under a nickname or with a transposed ID number can hold the application up, and it is far easier to get right on the first attempt than to correct once the application is waiting for approval.
The acknowledgement receipt and tracking
KRA says that after the form is submitted the applicant receives an acknowledgement receipt with a reference number, which is used to track the application while it awaits approval. Save it at once, in the same folder as the incorporation documents.
KRA also says a taxpayer can check the status of iTax applications with the Case Status Checker, and, once the PIN is issued, download the PIN certificate from its iTax profile. Keep the certificate as a PDF where everyone who invoices or contracts for the business can find it.
A company PIN has a recognisable shape. KRA's buyer-initiated invoicing guidelines describe a valid PIN as 11 characters: the letter A for individuals and sole proprietors or P for companies, then 9 digits, then a letter, as in P123456789Z. A new company's PIN should begin with P.
Recording the PIN in Achekam and confirming it on iTax
A business can register its Achekam workspace as Kenyan at sign-up, which makes the Kenya pack its default and, when the pack is activated, sets the shilling and the Africa/Nairobi time zone unless they are already set.
Where Achekam asks for a KRA PIN, it checks only the shape (a letter, 9 digits, a letter) as a soft check, and it does not check BRS registration numbers at all. It cannot tell you that a PIN belongs to your company. Confirm the PIN on iTax's PIN checker and keep the evidence of that check with your records. A typing slip in the company's own PIN finds its way onto every invoice, so it is worth the minute.
Documents to have ready before you start
- The company's or partnership's registration certificate, and the details on it.
- The KRA PIN and national ID of every director, and for a partnership the equivalent details for the partners.
- A clear list of the tax obligations the business needs from the start.
- The tax agent's details, if one will act for the business.
- The iTax login of the person who will submit the form, and a folder ready for the acknowledgement and the PIN certificate.
KRA walks through the online form, step by step, in its guide to KRA PIN registration for a non-individual. Readers comparing Kenya's PIN with Nigeria's tax identification number will find both explained in tax IDs in Nigeria and Kenya.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
