Kenya Revenue Authority informs the public that following amendments to section 17(5) of VAT Act 2013 that reintroduced refunds of VAT arising from excess credits out of VAT withheld by appointed tax withholding agents, the authority has automated the applicable refund process and rolled out a module in iTax system to process the refunds.

In line with the amendment, a registered person who accumulated excess Withholding VAT credit within 36 months prior to 23rd July 2019, may apply for offset or refund of the excess tax within twelve months from 23rd July 2019.

In the case of any such excess credits arising after 23rd of July 2019, a registered person may apply for an offset or refund within 24 months from the date the tax became due.

Taxpayers who qualify for refund or offset of excess VAT credit arising out of Tax Withheld under the stated provision of the Act may lodge a claim for offset or refund of the excess tax using the module provided. The qualifying registered persons are particularly reminded on the time restrictions to lodging the claims.

Further, a registered person who submitted manual application are advised to reapply for offset or refund on iTax system. Please note that refund claims submitted manually will not be processed.
For clarification please contact the Contact Centre on Tel. Number: 020 4 999 999; 0711 099 999 or Email: callcentre@kra.go.ke. You may also visit the nearest KRA Office or Huduma Centre.

Commissioner for Domestic Taxes