Telling KRA and BRS about a move or name change
The 21-day notice a VAT-registered Kenyan business owes KRA after a move or name change, the BRS forms involved, and what else to update.
By Achekam · · 4 min read · For Running a business businesses in Kenya
Moving premises is exhausting enough: the lease, the fit-out, the internet, the signage. Changing the business's name, or shifting what it actually does, brings its own round of decisions. In the middle of all that, the government notices tend to slip, because nothing stops working on the day you forget them.
They matter all the same. A VAT-registered Kenyan business has a short, fixed window to tell KRA, and a company has separate notices to give the Business Registration Service. This guide sets out who needs to hear what, how quickly, and how to make sure your own documents carry the new details.
The twenty-one-day notice to the Commissioner
KRA says a VAT-registered person must notify the Commissioner in writing within 21 days of any change of:
- name, including a business name;
- address;
- place of business; or
- nature of business.
The list is wider than people expect. A business that keeps its name and address but changes what it sells, say a hardware retailer that becomes a building contractor, has changed the nature of its business and owes KRA the same notice. A business that opens a new place of business without leaving the old one should also ask whether that counts as a change of place of business.
Twenty-one days passes quickly during a move. Make the KRA notice part of the moving plan, not something to do once the boxes are unpacked. KRA's Value Added Tax page sets out the obligations of a registered person, including this notice, and is the place to confirm how KRA wants it given.
Company changes at BRS: address and directors' particulars
KRA is not the only office that needs to know. The Business Registration Service says its Companies Registry administers the Companies Act, 2015, the Registration of Business Names Act and the Limited Liability Partnerships Act. Its functions include registering companies, LLPs and business names, and enforcing compliance.
For a company that moves, BRS has a specific notice. Its fee schedule lists form CR 16 for a change of company address or location, at a fee of Kshs 550, with one day shown against it. The same schedule lists form CR7, for a change in directors' particulars, also at Kshs 550, with two days shown. BRS's fee page is undated, so check the current fee when you file.
A move often changes more than the registered office. If a director's own details change at the same time, BRS lists the director notices under the Companies Act, 2015 as CR6 for appointing directors, CR7 for a change of directors' particulars, CR8 for a director's residential address and CR9 for a director ceasing to hold office. CR7, CR8 and CR9 cite section 138 of the Act. The detail is in notifying BRS of director changes.
A change of company name follows its own BRS process, and BRS will refuse some names outright; see company names BRS will refuse before you settle on a new one.
Business names and partnerships
Not every business is a company. A sole trader or partnership trading under a registered business name, or a limited liability partnership, is also on the BRS register, because the same Companies Registry administers business names and LLPs. If one of these moves or renames, check the BRS forms page for the notice that fits, and remember that the KRA notice applies whatever the legal form, as long as the business is registered for VAT.
Annual filings are a separate obligation, covered in the BRS annual return, and the new details should flow into the next one.
Updating your profile, letterhead and documents in Achekam
Once the official notices are under way, make sure your own paperwork says the same thing. In Achekam, the business enters its VAT registration number in Settings under Firm Profile, and documents the server produces print it. A document is titled Tax Invoice only when a VAT number is set, so the profile is worth checking whenever the business's VAT details change.
The logo, brand colour and company details you set under Settings appear on payslips, tax certificates and documents composed for signature. Update the address and name there once, and the next documents you produce carry them, rather than someone retyping the new address into each template.
A worked example in words: a company moves from Westlands to Upper Hill and, at the same time, drops the word "Traders" from its name. It sends KRA its written notice, files CR 16 with BRS for the new address and starts the separate name-change process. In Achekam, the administrator updates the company name and address under Settings. The next payslips, tax certificates and documents sent for signature carry the new details.
Telling customers, suppliers and your bank
The law covers KRA and BRS, but the people you deal with every day need to know too. Good practice is to:
- send customers a short letter or e-mail with the new name or address and the date it takes effect;
- ask regular suppliers to update the details they print on their invoices to you;
- tell your bank, and check that statements and any standing payment details reflect the change;
- update your website, e-mail signatures and signage;
- tell your landlord, insurer and any regulator that licenses your industry.
A checklist after a move
- Written notice to the KRA Commissioner, within 21 days.
- CR 16 to BRS for a company's new address or location.
- Any director notices, CR7 or CR8, if directors' details changed.
- Name change process at BRS, if the name is changing.
- Settings updated in Achekam: name, address and VAT number.
- Customers, suppliers, bank and other parties told.
- Copies of every notice and acknowledgement filed together.
Keep the copies in one folder: the next time someone asks when the business moved, the answer and the proof will be in the same place.
General guidance only, not advice on your own circumstances. Tax and payroll rules change: check the current position with the authority or your adviser.
