The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has announced penalties and interest waivers for taxpayers affected by disruptions on the iTax portal in September 2026.
In a statement on September 16, 2026, KRA acknowledged that the disruptions affected the normal functioning of return filing and payment services.
“Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) wishes to inform taxpayers that, following the recent intermittent downtime of the iTax portal, which affected the normal functioning of return filing and payment services, the Authority will waive penalties and interest accrued as a result of the system downtime in September 2026,” part of the notice read.
The authority further clarified that the waiver of penalties and interest to the affected taxpayers will be in accordance with Section 89(5A) of the Tax Procedure Act.
Taxpayers qualifying for the waiver, according to the authority, are those whose tax returns were affected during the period when the iTax services were unavailable or inaccessible.
Additionally, the authority apologized to the taxpayers for the inconveniences caused by the service disruption and commended their cooperation during the period.
How KRA Waiver of Penalties and Interest Will Work
The announcement came as taxpayers prepared to meet the September 20 deadline to file and pay August Value Added Tax (VAT).
Some users, however, reported difficulties accessing iTax and completing their transactions.
On September 16, KRA issued a notice stating it was experiencing intermittent disruptions affecting the iTax system and actively working to restore normal services.
“We are currently experiencing intermittent disruptions affecting the iTax system. Our Technical teams are actively working to resolve the issue and restore normal service as soon as possible,” the authority’s notice stated.
KRA also advised taxpayers experiencing difficulties accessing the platform to try again later.
Following the announcement of the waiver, the authority will undertake the necessary system processes to verify that penalties and interest are waived during the period of system downtime.
Under Section 89(5A) of the Tax Procedures Act, the 2026 changes to the law also introduced provisions specifically addressing malfunctions of electronic tax systems.
For the September iTax disruption, the provision allows KRA to address penalties and interest incurred by taxpayers who were unable to meet their obligations because of the system problems.
The authority will first verify the periods when iTax services were unavailable or intermittently inaccessible before applying the relief.
However, the provision of the Act specifies that the waiver does not cancel all penalties incurred in September.
According to the authority, taxpayers seeking assistance can contact the KRA Contact Center through 020 4 999 999 or 0711 099 999.
Taxpayers React to KRA Waiver
The announcement from the authority has drawn mixed reactions from taxpayers and other iTax users on social media.
Some welcomed the decision, with one user responding that listening to taxpayers was the right approach.
Others, however, questioned why the waiver was limited to September, arguing that they had experienced problems with KRA‘s systems for a longer period.
One taxpayer inquired whether the iTax problems had actually been resolved.
At the same time, some raised concerns over genuine eTIMS invoices that had not been transmitted and could therefore affect the VAT payable by a business.
Additionally, some users claimed that the system had been experiencing glitches since April, questioning the focus on September alone.
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