Taxpayers submit their 2013 income tax returns forms to KRA officials on June 30. Photo/Billy Mutai
What you need to know:
The individuals, dangling copies of tax returns whose originals were dropped at the KRA offices on Monday, refused to register their details afresh, causing a standoff that lasted nearly three hours.
On Monday, as 5pm approached, KRA officials asked hundreds of people who were still waiting in a queue to make copies of their returns and leave unsigned originals behind.
The taxpayers were supposed to return yesterday morning to have their photocopied documents stamped as proof of having met the June 30 deadline.
Taxpayers Tuesday jammed the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) headquarters seeking clearance that will shield them from a Sh10,000 penalty, a day after the lapse of statutory deadline for filing returns.
The individuals, dangling copies of tax returns whose originals were dropped at the KRA offices on Monday, refused to register their details afresh, causing a standoff that lasted nearly three hours.
Instead, they demanded the stamping of their papers to indicate that they filed their returns within the statutory timeline that lapsed on June 30.
“I was here by 2pm yesterday (Monday) but the KRA employees were overwhelmed. I came back early this morning only to be asked to register afresh instead of stamping copies of papers that I left here yesterday,” said Peter Odiwuor.
Usually, the KRA staff receive tax returns from individuals and firms, review them and stamp those deemed to have been filled correctly.
But on Monday, as 5pm approached, the officials asked hundreds of people who were still waiting in a queue to make copies of their returns and leave unsigned originals behind.
The taxpayers were supposed to return Tuesday morning to have their photocopied documents stamped as proof of having met the June 30 deadline.
The public, most of whom failed to access the service through the iTax online portal, returned as promised early Tuesday, only to find that KRA officials had changed the arrangement.
The officials, who initially refused to stamp the documents, infuriated the public further when they asked each taxpayer to record only their names, PIN and national identity numbers.
“There was a small delay in processing forms of the people asked to come back today but that was later sorted,” Mr Ezekiel Maru, the acting deputy commissioner in charge of marketing and communications later told the Business Daily by phone.
“We wanted to pass a firm message to the public that the deadline for submitting tax returns passed yesterday and that is exactly what happened because no new forms were accepted today.”
The standoff lasted up to 10.40am when KRA officials rescinded their decision and stamped all the photocopies with stamps marked June 30.
Some taxpayers blamed KRA for the hitch, claiming they were unable to file their tax returns online because the website had problems.
“I think I should be fined when I fail to meet the set deadline but it’s morally wrong for KRA to force a large number of people to pay penalties for mistakes of its own making,” said a taxpayer who only identified himself as Mr Waweru.
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