eTIMS — Kenya's mandatory e-invoicing
KRA's Electronic Tax Invoice Management System. Every taxable supply must pass through it from 1 January 2024.
eTIMS (Electronic Tax Invoice Management System) replaced the older ETR (Electronic Tax Register) hardware in 2024. Every business making taxable supplies in Kenya must now issue invoices through eTIMS — KRA stamps each invoice with a unique Control Number and QR code that the buyer needs to claim input VAT.
An invoice that didn't pass through eTIMS is NOT a valid tax invoice. Your buyer cannot claim the input VAT, and KRA can refuse to recognise your output VAT on it. From 1 September 2023 this requirement also applies to non-VAT-registered businesses for income-tax purposes.
How eTIMS works
- You issue an invoice in your billing system (Vendly).
- Vendly sends the invoice details to KRA's eTIMS through the integration.
- eTIMS validates the line items + buyer PIN and returns a Control Number, QR code and a verified invoice number.
- Your printed/emailed PDF includes the Control Number and QR code — that's what makes it a valid tax invoice.
eTIMS flavours
| Flavour | Who it's for | How it integrates |
|---|---|---|
| eTIMS Web | Small businesses with low invoice volume | Issue each invoice manually on KRA's eTIMS portal |
| eTIMS Client (desktop) | Medium businesses, offline-capable | KRA software running on your own computer |
| eTIMS Online Sales Control Unit (OSCU) | API integration with your billing system | Vendly uses this — invoices go through programmatically |
| VSCU (Virtual SCU) | Big businesses with multiple branches | Cloud-hosted API; allowed if approved by KRA |
Connecting Vendly to eTIMS
Register on the eTIMS portal
Log in to itax.kra.go.ke, navigate to eTIMS, and apply for OSCU/VSCU access. KRA approves and issues an integration key.
Add the integration to Vendly
Settings → Integrations → eTIMS. Paste the KRA-issued PIN, branch code, and integration secret. Test the connection with a draft invoice.
Issue every taxable invoice through it
Once configured, every Invoice you mark SENT is pushed to eTIMS in the background. The PDF picks up the returned Control Number + QR automatically.
Common issues
- Buyer PIN missing or wrong — eTIMS rejects the invoice. Fix the client's KRA PIN and resubmit.
- Line item tax rate mismatch — eTIMS checks zero-rated and exempt classifications against KRA's master list. A consultancy line marked 0% will be rejected.
- Connection timeout — the OSCU/VSCU endpoint occasionally times out at month-end. Vendly retries automatically; manual retry is available from the invoice's actions menu.
Penalty for issuing an invoice outside eTIMS is the higher of KES 1,000,000 or 10% of the value of the invoice. Make eTIMS the first thing you set up after VAT registration.
Kenya law that applies
- KRA eTIMS — Electronic Tax Invoice Management System
Mandatory e-invoicing system. Every taxable supply must be issued through eTIMS — sales without an eTIMS invoice cannot be claimed as an input by the buyer.
- Value Added Tax Act 2013
Standard rate 16% VAT, exempt and zero-rated supplies, the KES 5m registration threshold, monthly VAT3 return.
- KRA iTax portal
Where monthly PAYE, VAT and other returns are filed.