Checking KRA's auto-populated VAT return
Where the figures in KRA's pre-filled VAT return come from, why sales can go up but not down, and the checks to run before you submit.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Kenya
For years a Kenyan VAT return started as a blank form that the business filled in from its own books. Now KRA fills much of it in first. You log in, and the sales and purchase figures are already there, drawn from KRA's own systems.
That is convenient, but it changes the job rather than removing it. KRA says the business must verify and confirm the return's accuracy, so you are now checking KRA's version of your month against your own. Where the two disagree, the rules on which way you can adjust are not symmetrical, and getting them wrong can mean overpaying VAT or claiming input tax KRA will not allow.
Where the pre-filled figures come from
KRA says the auto-populated VAT return is pre-filled with information from iTax, TIMS, eTIMS and the customs systems. In other words, KRA is assembling your return from the electronic invoices you and your suppliers transmitted, and from import entries at customs.
That only works if the invoices exist electronically. KRA also says VAT-registered taxpayers must issue electronic tax invoices, or demand them from suppliers, and transmit invoice details through TIMS or eTIMS. A sale or purchase that never went through those systems will not appear in the pre-filled figures. KRA's frequently asked questions on the auto-populated return explain how the return is built and what can be changed, and are worth reading before your first filing.
Sales: you may add but not reduce
Here is the asymmetry. KRA says a taxpayer cannot reduce the pre-populated sales below what was transmitted through TIMS or eTIMS, but can adjust sales upwards, for example for sales made outside TIMS or eTIMS.
The logic is clear from KRA's side: a transmitted invoice is evidence of a sale. For the business, the consequences are practical:
- If an invoice was transmitted in error, the fix is not to lower the figure in the return. The error needs correcting through the eTIMS system it came from.
- If some sales were made outside eTIMS, they must be added. Leaving them out because they are not pre-filled under-declares your output VAT.
Invoice date, not transmission date
KRA says sales are pre-populated by invoice date, not transmission date, so all sales for the period must be declared whether or not they were transmitted by the filing date.
A worked example in words: an invoice is dated the last day of the month, but the shop's connection fails and it is only transmitted a week later. It belongs to the month on its date. If the return is filed before the transmission, the invoice will not be in the pre-filled figures, and the business must add it.
Very many sales to registered customers
KRA says sales to VAT-registered customers can be declared line by line up to a maximum of 75,000 rows in sheet B, with the taxable value of any further invoices added to the lump-sum sales field. Most businesses never come near that, but a high-volume seller should know where the overflow goes. More in VAT returns for clients with very many sales.
Purchases that count and those that do not
On the input side, KRA says input VAT can only be claimed on TIMS or eTIMS invoices that were transmitted to KRA with the buyer's PIN, and cannot be claimed on manual invoices. KRA also allows input VAT on validated customs import entries, with status settled or removed, and on supplies from non-resident digital suppliers who declared the buyer's PIN on a line item.
So the question for each purchase is not only "did we pay VAT?" but "did the supplier transmit it with our PIN?" A supplier who gave you a handwritten invoice, or keyed in the wrong PIN, has given you VAT you cannot claim. The full conditions are in when you can claim input VAT in Kenya.
Comparing it with Achekam's VAT figures and unfiscalised list
Your own books are the other half of the comparison. A Kenyan VAT return in Achekam lists the period's invoices, credit notes and till sales that are not fiscalised. That is the list most likely to explain a gap between your books and KRA's pre-filled sales. Achekam does not block the return because of them; it shows them so a person can decide what to do. More on that list is in unfiscalised sales and the VAT return.
Achekam's own transmission of Kenyan invoices to eTIMS is not live in production. Today a Kenyan business issues the invoice through another eTIMS channel, such as eTIMS Lite, eTIMS Client or a third-party eTIMS integrator, then records the control-unit invoice number, internal data and receipt signature in Achekam. A second person verifies them, and only then does the invoice count as fiscalised.
If you run a till, posted till sales can be listed by VAT rate and tax code for any period, and the VAT return calculations read the posted till sales. That gives you a rate-by-rate view of the counter to set beside KRA's figures.
Checks before you submit
- Compare KRA's pre-filled sales with your own sales for the period, by invoice date.
- Work through Achekam's unfiscalised list: was each item issued through eTIMS, and if not, does it need adding to the return?
- Add any sales made outside eTIMS; never lower transmitted sales in the return.
- Check late-transmitted invoices dated in the period are included.
- For purchases, confirm each input VAT claim rests on an eTIMS invoice with your PIN, a validated customs entry or a qualifying digital supplier.
- Chase suppliers whose invoices are missing or carry the wrong PIN before the due date, not after.
Start the comparison a few days before the return is due, so that suppliers have time to correct their invoices and your own corrections can go through eTIMS rather than around it.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
