# Kenya eTIMS Invoice Compliance Checklist for Manufacturers and Distributors

> Source: https://netray.co/tools/kenya-etims-invoice-compliance-checklist
> Publisher: Netray (netray.co), AI and integration engineering for ERP and manufacturing systems.
> Section: Free Tools

## Short answer

A practical checklist for onboarding to KRA's eTIMS, issuing compliant invoices from your ERP, and keeping purchase invoices deductible.

## Category

regional

## Region

Kenya

## Industry

Manufacturing

## Audience

- Financial controller
- Tax manager
- ERP administrator

## Tool

**Kind:** checklist

**Groups:**

#### Registration and onboarding

**Items:**

**Text:** Confirm the company has an active KRA PIN and iTax account in good standing.

**Critical:** true

**Text:** Register the business on the eTIMS portal and record the outlets or branches.

**Critical:** true

Choose the integration route: eTIMS client, OSCU, VSCU or API, matching your invoicing volume.

Assign an internal owner for eTIMS and a backup user.

Record the device or software identifiers issued by KRA.

Test in the sandbox or pilot environment before live invoicing.

**Text:** Update standard operating procedures so staff know when an eTIMS invoice is required.

**Critical:** true

#### Invoices you issue

**Items:**

**Text:** Every sales invoice is issued through eTIMS and carries a KRA control unit invoice number.

**Critical:** true

Seller name, PIN and address print correctly on each invoice.

**Text:** Customer PIN is captured on every business-to-business invoice.

**Critical:** true

Item descriptions, quantities, unit prices and tax category codes are complete.

**Text:** VAT is shown at the correct rate per line, with exempt and zero-rated lines flagged.

**Critical:** true

A QR code and the date and time of signing appear on the invoice.

**Text:** Credit notes and debit notes are issued through eTIMS and reference the original invoice.

**Critical:** true

Export invoices are issued with the correct zero-rated treatment.

Cancelled or corrected invoices follow a documented approval step.

#### Invoices you receive

**Items:**

**Text:** Suppliers are told to issue eTIMS invoices quoting your PIN.

**Critical:** true

Expense claims are rejected or flagged when no eTIMS invoice exists.

Where a supplier cannot issue invoices, you know the buyer-initiated invoice route.

**Text:** Purchase invoices are matched to eTIMS data before input VAT is claimed.

**Critical:** true

Vendor master holds a validated PIN for every supplier.

Petty cash and small purchases have a rule for obtaining valid invoices.

#### ERP integration and controls

**Items:**

**Text:** Tax codes in the ERP map to eTIMS tax categories without manual overrides.

**Critical:** true

Item master holds the classification codes needed by eTIMS.

**Text:** Failed or pending submissions are visible in a daily exception report.

**Critical:** true

Offline or outage procedures are documented and tested.

Access is limited by role, with an audit trail of who issued, cancelled or amended invoices.

**Text:** Monthly reconciliation compares ERP sales, eTIMS records and the VAT return.

**Critical:** true

Retention rules for invoices and logs are defined and followed.

Staff are trained on the process and refreshed after KRA changes.

**Scoring Note:** Aim to close every critical item before relying on the process in a tax audit. Requirements and deadlines change, so confirm the current rules with KRA.

## Content

**Intro:** Kenya's Revenue Authority uses eTIMS, the electronic Tax Invoice Management System, to receive tax invoice data in near real time. For manufacturers and distributors, it affects how invoices are issued, how purchases are supported and how input VAT and expense deductions are defended.

**Sections:**

#### How to use this checklist

**Body:** Work through the four groups in order: onboarding, invoices you issue, invoices you receive and ERP controls. Tick items as you confirm them and focus first on the ones marked critical. The score tells you how ready the process is, and the export gives you a record to attach to an internal control review or hand to your ERP partner.

**Bullets:**

- Assign each unticked item to an owner.
- Re-run after any ERP or tax code change.
- Keep a dated copy for audit.

#### Why eTIMS matters

**Body:** KRA expects invoices to be generated through its system so the authority can see transactions as they happen. For buyers, a supplier invoice that is not issued through the system can put the related expense deduction and input VAT claim at risk. That is why this checklist covers both sides: what you issue and what you accept from vendors.

#### Reading your score

**Body:** A high score with open critical items is still a risk, because one missing control, such as an unmatched purchase invoice, can be enough to disallow a claim. Pay special attention to tax code mapping and the daily exception report. These two controls catch most real-world failures before they reach the monthly return.

**Bullets:**

- Check PINs before posting supplier invoices.
- Review pending submissions every day.
- Reconcile at month end, not at year end.

#### Common mistakes

**Body:** Common failures include issuing a manual invoice during an outage and never regularising it, leaving customer PINs blank, and mapping all items to one tax category. Teams also forget that credit notes follow the same route. Because rules and integration options are updated by KRA, treat this list as a working template and verify details against current guidance.

**Cta:** Netray can build a read-only reconciliation of ERP invoices against eTIMS submissions, so exceptions are listed daily with the query visible to your auditors.

**Faq:**

#### What is eTIMS in Kenya?

**Answer:** eTIMS is the electronic Tax Invoice Management System run by the Kenya Revenue Authority. Businesses issue tax invoices through it so KRA receives transaction data electronically.

#### Do I need a customer PIN on invoices?

**Answer:** For business customers, capturing the PIN lets them claim expenses and input VAT against your invoice. Missing PINs are a common cause of rejected claims, so make the field mandatory in your ERP.

#### Can I connect eTIMS to my ERP?

**Answer:** KRA offers several integration routes, including software-based and API options. Which one fits depends on your ERP and invoice volume. Confirm the options and technical specifications with KRA.

#### Are credit notes covered?

**Answer:** Yes. Credit notes and debit notes should also be issued through the system and reference the original invoice. Handling them outside eTIMS creates reconciliation differences.

## Search terms

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