Traders in Eastleigh want the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to deploy revenue officers familiar with their language which has been attributed to low levels of tax compliance by businesses in one of Nairobi’s busiest trade hubs.
During a consultative meeting with the business owners, it emerged that small and medium enterprises which operate in the area have reported low adoption rate of the Electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS) which many traders in Eastleigh have said is due to language barrier.
Eastleigh Business District Association (EBDA) Secretary General Omar Hussein said many traders in Eastleigh are not conversant with the two official languages, English and Kiswahili a move which has created gap in understanding tax obligations.
KRA is now targeting to deploy revenue officers to facilitate effective engagement and provide tailored tax education which is expected to boost compliance in the trade hub.
“KRA is committed to supporting traders and we will provide the necessary facilitation and guidance to ensure that every business understands and meet its responsibilities including registration, filing and paying their taxes,” said George Obell, KRA Commissioner for Micro and Small Taxpayers.
With two months left in the current financial year, the authority says its targeting to ensure SMEs within the area and across the country adopt eTIMS to boost revenue collection.
“Many businesses across the country source goods from Eastleigh but face challenges in obtaining eTIMS invoices, which are critical for expense claims. This is because traders in Eastleigh receive cash payments and avoid issuing invoices to buyers. We are therefore going to ensure that the traders are supported to register on eTIMS and issue
receipts for all transactions, enhancing transparency and creating a level playing field in the market,” said Obell.
The authority will also rollout on-ground tax compliance support programme in the Eastleigh aimed at assisting businesses to uphold compliance.
The initiative will see KRA officers deployed across the Eastleigh business district to offer end-to-end support to traders, including PIN registration, tax filing assistance, eTims onboarding and guidance on tax payments to ensure full compliance.
In the 2025/26 financial year, KRA has been given a target to collect Ksh 2.97 trillion and so far, the revenue gap currently sits at Ksh 930 billion.
