KRA commissioner-general Githii Mburu hailed the March collection as an outstanding performance compared to the month of February when KRA collected Sh127.7 billion.
Image: COURTESY
The Kenya Revenue Authority collected Sh144.6 billion for the month of March 2021, the highest since the start of the 2021-21 financial year.
The March collections surpassed the target by Sh6.6 billion.
KRA commissioner-general Githii Mburu hailed the March collection as an outstanding performance compared to the month of February when KRA collected Sh127.7 billion.
The February collection registered a performance rate of 105.1 per cent.
“Despite the slow economic progression, KRA registered 11.2 per cent revenue growth collecting a surplus of Sh6.6 billion in March 2021. This was the fourth month running that KRA posted an improved and above target performance since December 2020. The good revenue performance has been enhanced by the sustained implementation of compliance efforts, revenue enhancement initiatives and improved service delivery to taxpayers,” Mburu said.
The Customs and Border Control department continued to record excellent performance after achieving a growth of 47.3 per cent with a revenue collection of Sh60.751 billion, the second-highest monthly collection in its history.
Mburu said this was an improved performance compared to the month of February when the department collected Sh51.3 billion reflecting a growth of 24.9 per cent.
Customs and Border Control department surpassed the revenue target after collecting a revenue surplus of Sh14.409 billion in March 2021, achieving a performance rate of 131.1 per cent. Domestic Taxes registered a performance rate of 91.4 per cent after collecting Sh83.378 billion.
He said the performance was largely affected by Corporation Tax which registered a decline of 35.2 per cent, a fall that was attributed to a significant decline of 62.8 per cent in the ICT sector.
“PAYE registered improved performance of 110.7 per cent with a collection of Sh34.595 billion accumulating a surplus of Sh3.339 billion. The performance was boosted by revenue collection in the public sector which had a growth of 5.7 per cent. Withholding Tax registered revenue growth of 15.4 percent with a collection of Sh9.418 billion which implied a performance rate of 106.0 per cent,” Mburu said in a statement.
The domestic excise duty recorded a performance rate of 61.9 per cent after collecting Sh4.521 billion. Domestic Value Added Tax collection amounted to Sh17.017 billion registering an improved growth of 4.2 per cent compared to 1.6 percent growth in February 2021. This was equivalent to a performance rate of 81.3 per cent.
According to Budget Policy Statement 2021, the Kenyan economy is anticipated to expand by above six per cent over the medium term, compared to 0.6 per cent projected in 2020.
Mburu said the country remains positive on revenue performance as KRA implements a number of revenue enhancement measures.
These include revamping the audit function, tax base expansion and enhanced debt programme, implementation of post-clearance audits, comprehensive audit of all exemptions, enhanced scanning and intelligence-led verification of cargo at the ports of entry.
“KRA also continues to leverage on technology to enhance efficiency in revenue collection. With enhanced operational efficiency, the authority is optimistic that the landscape of revenue mobilisation and collection will be completely changed. KRA has also intensified its fight against tax evasion to ensure that no revenue is lost,” Mburu said.
Edited by P.O