The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) revenue collection for the month of March increased by ksh.6.6 billion to record Ksh.144.6 billion.
It is an 11.2 percent increase compared to the month of February when KRA collected Ksh.127.7 billion.
This is the highest revenue performance rate by the taxman since the beginning of the financial year 2020/21.
“Despite the slow economic progression, KRA registered 11.2 percent revenue growth collecting a surplus of Ksh.6.6 billion in March 2021. This was the fourth month running that KRA posted an improved and above target performance since December 2020.” Said KRA Commissioner General James Mburu in a statement.
“In the fourth month running, Customs & Border Control (C&BC) Department continued to record excellent performance after achieving a growth of 47.3 percent with a revenue collection of Ksh.60.75 billion, the second-highest monthly collection in its history.” He said
During the month of February Customs and Border Control (CBC) collected Ksh.51.3 billion, reflecting a growth of 24.9 percent. CBC surpassed the revenue target after collecting a revenue surplus of Ksh.14.409 billion in March 2021, achieving a performance rate of 131.1 percent.
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Mburu said Domestic Taxes registered a performance rate of 91.4 percent after collecting Ksh.83.37 billion.
The performance was largely affected by Corporation Tax which registered a decline of 35.2 percent, driven by a significant decline in the ICT sector.
KRA is implementing a number of revenue enhancement measures to include revamping the audit function, tax base expansion and enhanced debt program, implementation of post-clearance audits, comprehensive audit of all exemptions, enhanced scanning, and intelligence-led verification of cargo at the ports of entry.
The taxman also aims to leverage technology to enhance efficiency in revenue collection. With enhanced operational efficiency, the Authority is optimistic that the landscape of revenue mobilization and collection in this country will be completely changed.
Kenya remains positive on revenue performance with the International Monetary Fund projecting the country’s Gross Domestic Product (IMF) to grow by nearly 7 percent in 2021.
